


A Slice Of Life

by BeingCapricious



Category: Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Adulthood, Adulthood sucks, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, DC Comics References, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Financial Issues, Marvel Cameos, Mental Health Issues, Single Parents, Slice of Life, Survivor Guilt, superheroes dont get paid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-07-15 20:22:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 70,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16070618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeingCapricious/pseuds/BeingCapricious
Summary: Adulthood isn’t easy…even for a past superhero. Education was the key right? Sure..then why was it so damn hard to get a good job? The RowdyRuffs were the heirs to Mojo's succession: Jojo Inc, Buttercup is a well paid engineer, Bubbles is a kindergarten teacher and Blossom? Well, she’s educated and ambitious, they say that’s all you needed for a successful life. Adulthood/Work Post-Canon.





	1. Chapter 1

In life you could be the goody two shoes that excels in everything you do, a joyful and hardworking person, the best worker in your field of study, a responsible person the whole enchilada.

 

In the world of a working adult, it’s not only your qualifications and experience that matters, yes ambition and education is nice but it’s also about having connections, meeting the right people, associating with the right people, choosing your words and actions wisely, some people are more reckless than others, some even kill or steal to get by, others sleep around to get to the top and some were just born with their future freshly served on a chrome platter.

 

_Decisions, decisions, decisions_ , that’s what it all starts with, a good one could go bad at the very next choice. Life and its events don’t always go the way you expect it to be, regardless of who you are, it’s a never ending cycle of existence, oh how reality could be a bitch. Thought being a teenager was tough? Heh, welcome to adulthood.

 

Prologue:

 

**_Powerpuff!_ **

**_  
_ ** **_Powerpuff!_ **

 

**_Blossom; commander and the leader_ **

**_  
_ ** **_Bubbles; she is the joy and the laughter_ **

**_  
_ ** **_Buttercup; and she is the toughest fighter_ **

**_  
_ ** **_Powerpuffs save the day_ **

 

**_Fighting crime, trying to save the world_ **

**_  
_ ** **_Here they come just in time, the Powerpuff Girls_ **

**_  
_ ** **_Fighting crime, trying to save the world_ **

**_  
_ ** **_Here they come just in time, the Powerpuff Girls_ **

 

**_Oh no! It's the-_ **

 

The twenty-two year old, cotton candy pink eyed redhead popped out her earphones and set her phone down on her night stand table. That song, though irrelevant now, still held a special place in her heart.

 

She turned to the digital clock that read 6:45 a.m. She had an interview today, hopefully it could be the one that turns things around for her, be biased-free and actually _utilize_ those college two college degrees that she busted her ass for instead of rejecting her for possessing them. Her part time job as a Starbucks barista was her only source of income and that desperately needed to change.

 

Inhaling a breath of encouragement, Blossom Utonium lifted the light pink bed covers off her body to reveal her pear shaped figure in a thin white vest, white shorts and light pink socks and got off of her bed.

 

You’d think that life as adulthood for a superhero would be somewhat amazing right? Well...it’s nice to think about...but reality isn’t all that generous. As a kid, her and her sisters were the most kick ass superheros in the city.

 

Blossom released a light chuckle at the memories as she made her way into the bathroom to get ready.

 

The PowerPuff Girls, always saved the day, no matter how tough the challenge, ferocious the obstacle, they always came out on top one way or the other. It was quite the responsibility to be a young heroine and female one at that. The hero status didn’t stop the gender stereotypes, which were by her admission, extremely annoying but still she overcame.

 

At the age of ten, her and her sisters decided to ask the mayor if payment could be worked out for their services as they were getting older and the professor was a single father with three daughters to provide for. To think that the city that they often busted their asses for gave them the longest run around in court just to receive some damn commission, and for what?  For doing the same job of their beloved and well paid police force, not to mention the monster battles.

 

At the age of thirteen, a bill was passed which declared that all acts of superhero work would receive a commission which ranged between $25 to $1000 depending on the difficulty level of the task. This made the powerpuff’s happy, the girls could now chip in and pull their own weight in the household.

 

They all felt a new sense of responsibility, not just saving the day but growing up and existing in the real world, just like everyone else had to.

 

Sounds like an awesome future, right?

 

Blossom turned on the shower and removed her clothes. She picked up her bottle of conditioner and stepped into the shower, pulling the yellow, floral print curtain.

 

It sounded like an awesome future, up until the people of Townsville felt like they were spending too much money on supers. Between the ages of fourteen to eighteen, the need for superhero tasks decreased quite drastically, as if everything they had been doing was suddenly a piece of cake.

 

The police force upped their game, taking down some of the most notorious crooks such as Fuzzy Lumpkins, The Gang Green Gang, Femme Fatale and other common thieves in the city, even having a rehabilitation system in place to lessen the event of them returning to a life of crime. That was quite impressive, even for them but that was their job all along, so the girls were happy about it. Less crime fighting meant more time to enjoy life as a teenager.

 

Bubbles was a cheerleader, Buttercup was on the soccer, lacoss, hockey and boys wrestling team and Blossom did gymnastics and swimming just to have some sports on her record. They went to parties, although Bubbles and Buttercup did have to drag Blossom off to these, in the end they all enjoyed them, socializing, dancing, just having fun like regular people would.

 

However, like regular people, they had to find newer means of earning money. With a decreased crime rate, incomes were much smaller and rarer. They were reliant on monster attacks until the city of Townsville hired the avengers to put a stop to monster island for good.

 

Instead of killing them out, they developed a high tech system that trapped all monsters present on the island inside with no means of escaping. That barrier also extended way down beyond in the depths of the sea, as a result of this, several monsters died from inability to find food, many were depressed from deprival of the skies to fly, the open waters to swim and free land to roam to their heart’s content. Thus their reproduction level decreased rapidly, just want Townsville wanted.

 

The girls were bittersweet about this but it was out of their hands. Afterall, the mayor and law enforcement called the shots in this city, there was nothing the girls could do or say for change.

 

Exiting the shower Blossom quickly lotioned herself and went over to her closet to pull out an outfit. She choose a black dress pants, light pink dress shirt with a black blazer and picked up the iron for a bit of neatening. She still had to make breakfast for her sisters, the house maintenance was the least she could do after all since Buttercup and Bubbles handled chipped in the most when it came to bill payments.

 

On realization that things were changing the professor had suggested that the girls get into good colleges after high school. Blossom was excited the most about this, she loved learning and excelled at it though she had to admit it was very very _expensive_. She had gotten a scholarship and chosen general management and got admission to specialize in marketing since the professor realized she had a thing for it.

 

Bubbles was also excited about college and especially the college experience since she was the social butterfly of the three, she wanted to work with kids and be kindergarten teacher, just like Ms. Keane was.

 

Buttercup didn’t care much for college but because of the change, she wanted something that best fit herself, so when the professor gave her a brochure on types of engineering, she was convinced to give it her all. Automobile engineering had intrigued her the most.

 

College was a fun experience, the workload, parties, friendships, the part time jobs it was different adventure, preparing them for the world of work, as a _regular_ citizen.

 

After graduation was it. That big red sign in front of your face that read : Welcome To Adulthood.

What it really should’ve read was: Survival of The Fittest.

 

Jobs were hard to come by for skillsource, you were either too qualified, underqualified, lacked experience or weren’t compatible for the jobset.

 

Sighing, Blossom put on her clothes. She didn’t plan on making a fashion statement so she put her hair up in a half pony, applied some lipgloss and picked up her pink purse with her important documents and left her room to make breakfast.

 

Walking down the cream colored hallway, Bubbles light blue room door was open, revealing the curvy blue eyed blonde in a towel searching through her closet.

 

“Good Morning, Bubbles,” Blossom politely greeted her sister.

 

“Good Morning, Blossom,” Bubbles bubbly greeted her sister who gave her a smile before disappearing down the hall.

 

Bubbles Utonium was a twenty-two year old Kindergarten teacher at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. After graduating from the University of Townsville with a bachelors degree in childhood education, she recieved an opportunity from her old teacher Ms. Keane to work alongside her as an assistant.

 

As a result, all her learnings of children and their behaviour patterns were put to good use, using her bubbly personality to connect and form bonds with the children so they could excel. Now that ms. Keane was at retirement age, Bubbles took over as the main teacher. To think she was the one teaching and not Blossom, who everyone thought was more likely to take on a teaching role. It sure was sign of much maturity from her past childish mannered self.

 

Bubbles pulled out a baby blue dress and a pair of beige heels from her closet. Being a kindergarten teacher didn’t mean that her wardrobe had to be a bland one, the new generation was one of style plus she had a reputation of being the cutest one after all.

 

Content at her choice, she went over to her makeup section of the room to get ready. There was a new student coming in today, a _Jojo_  to be specific and Bubbles wanted to make a good impression on the parents given their status. Of all people the Jojo brothers, popularly known as The RowdyRuff boys, were the most successful trio of siblings in townsville along with their formerly villainous father, Mojo Jojo.

 

While her and her sisters had to approach life with a fresh start, the boys already had a head start with Mojo’s overly large brain that was finally put to use to develop Townsville instead of destroying it. It was almost bittersweet.

 

In grade school, the boys were absolute jerks to the puffs, with the exception of some civil moments from Boomer. In middle school the boys were still jerks, popular jerks in fact, almost every girl wanted to associate with them, crushed on them and dropped activities to flock behind them. In highschool was when the boys actually developed a stronger sense of cordiality, somewhat getting along with the puffs for existing sakes despite their popularity.

 

Bubbles applied a light pink lipstick, smacking her lips together in the mirror.

 

Boomer was the friendliest rowdyruff of the three, they got along despite the envious girls that glared lasers into her back. Boomer also got along with both Blossom and Buttercup, who also declared him as the friendliest rowdyruff, he was still rowdy though, guess some habits were hard to break, it did add umph to his attraction level though, in Bubbles opinion.

 

Butch was still as rude and disrespectful as she could remember but the guy was a powerhouse at sports, Buttercup absolutely hated him for stealing all the thunder from her fanbase, though the two brunettes had their moments of friendliness towards each other, being the best athletes in the school.

 

Otherwise, Butch was the second friendliest- you know what scratch that, he was incredibly taunting, arrogant and a jerk but….he was a good person at heart. It was a really weird, almost a bipolar thing to describe but Bubbles and Blossom didn’t have the hardest time with him.

 

Then there was Brick, the leader. Oh he was the hardest rowdyruff to be civil with, hanging on strongly to the past.

 

Bubbles shook her head at the memories.

 

Brick avoided any unnecessary contact with a powerpuff girl and was rather cold to them, earning hostile reactions from Buttercup and uneasy but angry ones from Blossom, the most level headed of the three. There were moments when they had to be paired together for projects or team activities, only then would Brick display excellent sportsmanship and leadership skills that even made Blossom’s jaw drop from shock.

 

Blossom tried to have a friendship with Brick but they were mostly on thin ice with each other, sometimes he was civil but most of the time he was a jerk to her. Yet somehow, Brick was the most popular rowdyruff boy in the school, he was not only dominating his academics but was also good at sports and volunteered in fund raising activities for the school and charities.

 

To think the arguably most evil rowdyruff boy that cared nothing more for destruction, actually grew to give a fuck about Townsville.

 

Shaking her head once more, Bubbles put on her clothes. She’d leave her hair down today, the forecast announced that it wouldn’t be as much wind.

 

She had to wonder which one of them actually reproduced so early in life. If Bubbles had to put money on it, she’d choose Butch. He was the most notorious playboy in high school and then in college, his name was popular amongst the girls and he didn’t even physically go to the school, not counting dorm parties.

 

Lightly giggling at the rowdy party memories, Bubbles slipped on her shoes, picked up her black purse and baby blue bag with her work necessities and left her room in time to see Buttercup walking down the hallway.  She wore her black coverall uniform with the gold Morbucks logo and black work boots.

 

“Good Morning, Buttercup,” Bubbles bubbly greeted her sister who lightly turned back to look at her.

 

“Morning, Bubs,” she yawned out and turned her head back.

 

Buttercup Utonium was the most successful powerpuff of the three at their age. Her degree in mechanical engineering and certifications in car care technicianing, landed her a job at the best automotive organization in Townsville: Mechanix. Though it was owned by the Morbucks, she surprisingly didn’t get a hard time, then again it was probably because Princess Morbucks had no direct contact with her or this part of the company for that manner.

 

She didn’t even know that the brat had an older brother, well half brother. Prince Morbucks was a very headstrong, determined, _attractive_ and courageous man that seemed to be the heir to a larger chunk of the Morbucks inheritance than Princess did, which might explain why the bitch was so infuritably persistent in joining things that appealed to her.

 

Buttercup wanted to scoff at her inner feminist, Princess Morbucks was the absolutely the last person on earth that she ever wanted to have sympathy for but in the working world, men are easily chosen over women, especially when it came to the powerful positions, regardless of their qualifications for successful output.

 

Prince however, did not display the same spoiled nature as his younger sister which Buttercup was grateful for. The companies that Blossom had applied for were under Princesses leadership, therefore resulting in a biased rejection. She felt bad for Blossom but the girl was ambitious and very smart, someone was bound to give her a chance someday.

 

Until then, she and Bubbles didn’t mind handling most of the bills. Blossom pulled everyone’s weight in household chores and did the cooking, so it was like paying for a service. They moved out of the professor's house two years ago for a bit of independence but the man still chipped in and got them a house, which they were grateful for but demanded to furnish it on their own.

 

The former green and blue powerpuff made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen at the smell of food.

 

At the stove, Blossom lifted the last omelette from the pan onto a plate then turned off the burner. She made a simple breakfast of two vegetarian omelettes and a salad with strawberries for her and Bubbles since they were vegetarians and a pepperoni omelette and bacon for Buttercup.

 

Blossom set the three plates on a tray then went over to the refrigerator for the bottle of orange juice. She had to go grocery shopping today, it was much cheaper being a vegetarian than an omnivore so they didn’t have the most costly food bill which was decent for Blossom to cover on her own.

 

Blossom placed three glasses on a separate tray, then filled them with juice, returning the bottle to the fridge.She took both trays in hand and made her way over to the kitchen table were both of her sisters sat, dressed for work.

 

“Good morning, Buttercup,” Blossom greeted her sister who had already stuffed some bacon in her mouth.

 

She lightly giggled at her brunette sister giving her wave at her mouth being too full to speak then took a bite out of her omelette.

 

Bubbles smiled at partook in her breakfast. Her and Buttercup had work for 8:00 a.m sharp but she knew that Blossom had landed an interview with the Jojo’s. It took a lot of convincing to get the redhead to apply for it, specifically because it was a position to be the Brick Jojo’s personal assistant.

 

It sounded scary but it was _a well paying job_ and Blossom had the qualifications for it, just to land the interview in the first place meant that Brick was being fair. Blossom just needed to use her confidence to obtain it. The boost of income in the household meant that Bubbles could some have extra cash outside from bill payments, it would give Buttercup more freedom with her money as well, after all they work hard for it.

 

“So sis, are you nervous for your interview today?” Bubbles friendly said to her redhead sister to engage in some conversation at the table.

 

Buttercup looked at Blossom at that, knowing that her sister was about to step into rowdyruff territory.

 

Blossom sighed, “A little, Brick is Brick after all,” she confessed, taking a sip of her orange juice.

Buttercup rolled her eyes, “That jerk has always had a stick up his ass, don’t let him intimidate you, Bloss,you got this!” she said to give her sister a boost of encouragement.

 

“That’s right!” Bubbles chirped out in agreement.

 

Blossom gave her sisters a small smile for their support, “Thanks girls, i’ll do my best to land this one,” she friendly said to her sisters who gave her a smile of encouragement.

 

“You have a new student coming in today, right Bubbles?” She said to continue conversation at the table.

 

Bubbles looked a bit visibly nervous, “Um.. yeah, it’s a girl and.. Um...well,” she started stuttering all of sudden.

 

Buttercup rose a brow at her sisters change of confidence, “Spit it out, already,” she lightly complained in curiosity.

 

Blossom gave Bubbles an encouraging look and the blue puff took a breath of encouragement, “She’s a jojo,” she announced, watching as both Blossom and Buttercup gasped in surprise.

 

“No way!” Buttercup exclaimed in shock.

 

Bubbles shook her head, “Waaaaayyyyyy!” she responded.

 

“Which rowdyruff?” Blossom asked in anticipation.

 

Bubbles shrugged, “I wasn’t informed,” she politely answered.

 

“I bet it’s Butch’s,” Buttercup joked out and Bubbles giggled.

 

“He was my bet too!” she chirped out, feeling the butterflies in her stomach simmering down.

 

“Could be Boomer’s as well, his fangirls were abnormally possessive,” Blossom chimed in.

 

“So were Brick’s,” Buttercup commented.

 

“That’s true,” Blossom chirped out. They were quite an obstacle in attempting a friendship with the red rowdyruff leader.

 

“Well however her father is, let’s hope for my sake that she’s a sweet little girl,” Bubbles chirped out and they both placed a hand of support over Bubbles hand.

 

“Good luck, sis!” they cheered in usion and Bubbles smiled at her sisters.

 

“So how old is she?” Blossom asked watching the time on the big clock.

 

“She’s five,” Bubbles announced, dropping her sister’s jaws again.

 

“Seriously girls, flies can choke you to death you know?” Bubbles joked out.

 

“Wait wait wait wait, are you sure this kid is from the boys?” Blossom questioned in some shock.

 

“Well considering that beastility isn’t ilegal in this state…...” Buttercup snickered out, making her sisters crack up.

 

“Monkeys can’t get humans pregnant though!” she chirped out then suddenly looked conflicted in thought.

 

“They can’t…..right Blossom?” Bubbles worriedly asked her sister, hoping to not get a half monkey child with a tail in her classroom.

 

“They can’t Bubbles,” Blossom humorously informed, watching as her blonde sister released a breath of relief. Buttercup snickered at that.

 

“Still…, this means that one of them had to be at least seventeen when they got a girl pregnant, it’s kind of irresponsible,” Blossom had to comment, not really wanting to sound judgemental.

 

Buttercup nodded her head in agreement, “He should’ve wrapped it up,” she chimed in.

 

Bubbles, not really wanting to judge whoever it was decided to chime in, “Well things happen and children are innocent despite who their parents are,” she spoke and her sisters nodded in agreement to her words.

 

Looking up at the time that read 7:30, the trio of sisters quickly finished up their breakfast.

 

Meanwhile……

 

At a suburbian looking house, a redhead little girl with red eyes sat patiently on the couch of the living room with a red ironman themed backpack next to her. She wore a white button up shirt with a red, black and white plaid, pleated skirt, white high socks and black mary janes on her feet. Her shoulder length hair was cute done into two low pigtails with red bows at each end.

 

“You excited for your first day for school, Bon Bon?” she heard her father’s voice say.

 

“Yes, daddy!” she happily exclaimed in response, seeing him in his work attire of a black jacket, white shirt, red tie and black dress pants.

 

Chuckling, he cutely patted his daughter’s head, “Good, let’s go,” he said, extending a hand for Bonnie to hold onto.

 

Smiling, Bonnie hopped off the couch and held her dad’s hand to go to school together. He didn’t take her to school often, so she highly cherished the times when he did.

 

Brick Jojo pulled out the keys to his red lamborghini, walking outside with his five year old daughter.

 

He locked the door then lifted Bonnie onto him, earning a cute giggle from his favorite girl in the world, lightly placing her into the passenger's seat, securing the seatbelt.

 

Hopping in himself, Brick started the ignition, letting it run for a few seconds before taking off down the street.

 

“Think you’ll make a lot of new friends today, Bon Bon?” Brick friendly asked his daughter that happily looked at him.

 

“Maybe!” she cutely responded.

 

“Aw, why maybe?” he friendly asked her.

 

“Uncle Boomer and uncle Butch are my friends! I don’t really need anymore,” she smartly responded in a cute manner, earning a laugh from Brick.

 

“Don’t you want friends your age Bon Bon?” Brick humorously asked Bonnie, chuckling at hearing her release an annoyed sigh.

 

“I guess I could make a few,” she lazily responded, averting her eyes to the window, watching as they drove past everything.

 

Brick smirked, “That’s my girl,” he commented, putting a small smile on her face at his praising. Oh she was a daddy’s girl alright.

 

“Hey guess what,” Brick started to say, making Bonnie look at him in anticipation.

 

“There’s a present for you in the glove compartment, go check,” he chirped out and Bonnie’s eyes lit up.

 

Excited, she reached forward and opened the compartment to reveal something gift wrapped. Smiling brightly, Bonnie took the soft feeling gift, quickly closing back the compartment and neatly took the wrapping off.

 

Brick chuckled at that, as much as she took after him, she was still somewhat prim and proper. Must be a girl thing.

 

“Eeee!” Bonnie joyfully exclaimed. Her gift was an Elmo animal from Sesame Street, she loved that show.

 

“I guess that means you like it,” Brick joked out.

 

“I LOVE IT!” Bonnie exclaimed, bursting with joy, “THANK YOU DADDY!”

 

“Your welcome, baby girl,” he friendly said to his daughter, pulling up in front of Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. It was the most reputable kindergarten  in Townsville and his daughter deserved nothing short of the best, though she did academically surpass this level, Brick wanted her to have a normal childhood. He didn’t even go to kindergarten at her age but she was his legacy.

 

Brick exited the vehicle, swiftly getting to his daughter’s side and opened the door, unfastening her seatbelt while she cutely giggled. He was always protective of Bonnie, it made her feel special after all she was his favorite girl.

 

Brick scooped Bonnie up his arms and carried her to up the building door. He squatted to set her down but Bonnie wrapped her arms her father’s neck.

 

“Bonnie….” Brick lightly said to his daughter, fully aware of what she was doing.

 

Bonnie looked at him with sad eyes and Brick sighed.

 

“I thought you were excited for your first day of school?” he gently asked her, watching her sad face.

 

“I am….but….can’t you stay with me, dad?” Bonnie sadly tried to bargain.

 

“Daddy has to go to work, baby girl,” Brick gently explained.

 

She frowned, “You’re always at work!” Bonnie sadly complained. Tears were forming in her eyes.

 

Brick sighed, “Daddy has important stuff to do for Grandpa Mojo, remember?” he gently said to her, watching as she lowered her head.

 

“I remember,” Bonnie sadly answered, releasing her father’s neck.

 

Lightly sighing Brick didn’t release her yet. Parental attachment was normal for her age but there was also the fact that he wasn’t spending as much time as he should be with Bonnie. That was one of the downsides to being a young single dad  but he had full custody of his daughter and that was never going to change, not with her sleazy bitch of a mother.

“Hey,” Brick said to get Bonnie’s attention.

 

When their eyes met, Brick hugged his daughter, placing a kiss on her forehead, knowing that it would generate a smile from Bonnie.

 

And it did, because Bonnie’s arms wrapped around Brick’s neck again, tighter this time.

 

“Bon Bon” Brick gently said her name.

 

“Yes, Daddy?” she softly responded.

 

“Have a great first day of school, ok?” he gently said to her again.

 

Bonnie took a few seconds before responding, “Will you please pick me up after school today?” she softly asked her father, hoping that he would instead of the nanny.

 

“Sure, baby girl,” he friendly responded, feeling Bonnie hug his neck even tighter.

 

“Do you promise?” she asked her father. He never broke his promises to her.

 

“I promise, Bonnie, i’ll pick you up after school today,” Brick reassured his daughter that finally let him go to stand on the ground.

 

“I love you, dad,” she chirped out, clutching her new elmo doll.

 

“I love you too, BonBon,” she friendly spoke to her and stood up to knock on the door at seeing his daughter’s smile.

 

It didn’t take too long for the door to open, revealing none other than a freaking powerpuff, a powerpuff was going to teach his daughter and the blonde one to be specific. That was just great, fucking fantastic!

 

Bubbles lips parted in shock at the sight before her. Her new student…..was _Brick_ Jojo’s daughter. To think that he seemed to be the responsible one of the three, good thing she didn’t place an actual bet on Butch.

 

As usual, he looked cold and scary. That stoic expression that she remembered throughout all her school years still decorated his face.

 

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the blonde puff, Brick used his professionalism, “Good Morning, Miss Utonium, I leave my daughter in your care,” he spoke then turned his gaze to Bonnie who was observing the faces of the two adults.

 

“Be a good girl Bon, my number is on speed dial, call me if anything, ok?” he friendly spoke to his daughter, shocking Bubbles even more.

 

“I will, dad,” Bonnie chirped out and Brick smiled at her.

 

Lost for words but not wanting to appear dumb, Bubbles spoke, “Um...where are my manners….Good Morning Mr. Jojo, Good Morning Bonnie, I’m Bubbles! Welcome to Pokey Oaks Kindergarten! I promise that you’ll have the most fun learning experience!” she managed to chirp out in her bubbly form.

 

Bonnie simply glanced at Bubbles then, looked back up at her father, who smirked in response.

 

“Be nice, kiddo, i’ll see you after school,” Brick friendly said to Bonnie, holding out a fist for her to bump.

 

Smiling, Bonnie fist bumped her dad and sweetly looked up Bubbles who seemed a bit off despite her outer bubbly looking demeanor.

 

Shaking off her nervousness, Bubbles extended a hand to Brick for a handshake.

 

“Your daughter is in good hands, sir!” she chirped out, trying to be confident under his piercing gaze.

 

_“She better be,”_ Brick thought but chose a less threatening response, “ Thank you, Miss Utonium,” he professionally said and hands with Bubbles.

 

He then turned to Bonnie and patted his daughters head before she walked inside the classroom of bra-! Kids.

 

“Class we have a new student joining us today, please welcome, Bonnie!” Bubbled chirped out to her students.

 

“Hi Bonnie!” the students greeted her and Bonnie did a cute curtsey. “Hi!” she chirped out in response and Bubbles smiled at her, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

 

“Bonnie, you take that empty seat right next to Sara, Sara please raise your hand so Bonnie can find you,” Bubbles sweetly spoke.

 

“Sure, Miss Bubbles! I’m right here, Bonnie!” the blonde girl named Sara cutely chirped out.

 

Brick waited at the door until Bonnie was seated before moving an inch. Bonnie waved at her father who waved back before disappearing from the doorframe.

 

Releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding, Bubbles closed the classroom door to begin her session.

 

The students listened as Bubbles went on explaining the class rules since Bonnie was new. The red eyed little girl tried her best to not look bored at her surroundings, if only this town was more flexible with their education system, she could’ve been at the end of grade school by now. Her parents and grandfather were all highly intelligent people, it was only common sense that she would be smart as well.

 

Though, Bonnie had to admit, despite being smart her mother wasn’t too responsible of a person in terms of her personal life but like she was often told, it wasn’t any of a child’s business.

 

Sighing, Bonnie took out her red Iphone and texted her uncle Boomer, ignoring Bubbles completely, not caring if it seemed rude or not.

 

Meanwhile…..

 

A stoic faced Brick drove on the route to work. Jojo Incorporated was a collision of different businesses into one. The twenty-two year old male was the general manager of the human resource firm, marketing firm and financial services firm, taking on the most workload as foreseen by his father, Mojo Jojo that always had high expectations of him.

 

Brick was the leader of the rowdyruff boys and Mojo’s most reliable son when it came to plan developments and executions, thus giving him the most workload of the three, knowing that he versatile enough to handle them.

 

He was highly intelligent, headstrong and a force to reckoned with in the world of business. He made people think twice about even attempting to scam Jojo Incorporated. The last thing anyone wanted was to see him angry...well maybe not everyone. His child’s mother and ex-girlfriend, Berserk, loved nothing more than to get under his skin for entertainment.

 

Since she was the mother of his child, he refrained putting is hands on her when she picked fights with him but god dammit it was hard. Berserk may have one of his biggest regrets in life but Bonnie wasn’t. He loved his daughter from since the day she was born and did a paternity test to ensure that she was his and she was.

 

Bonnie looked like Brick and acted like him too, melting his stone cold exterior. Bonnie  also having powers was a plus, Brick didn’t have to worry too hard for her safety, she knew how to defend herself if he or his brothers, or even if her slutbag mother wasn’t around.

 

Mojo wasn’t the happiest at Bonnie’s existence into in the world but he was still a good grandfather to her, with him being the reason why Bonnie was as smart as she was for a five year old. He nerdified the poor kid before her time. Then HIM, was the reason why Bonnie knew how to fight as good as she could, giving the little girl practice simulations as if she was born to be a weapon. Brick was sure to keep an eye on the red lobster, unsure if the demon really had  taken a step back from his evil ways to be civil.

 

Brick wanted his daughter to have a great life, as sappy as it sounded, he wanted to give her a bright future, one in which she could work hard if she wanted to or a life a comfortable luxury, as long as she was happy. That was all that mattered to him.

 

After a fifteen minute drive, Brick pulled into his reserved spot in car park of Jojo Incorporated, next to his brothers, though only they were empty.

 

Brick shook his head, Monday’s never seemed to work well for Boomer and Butch. Then again, if he didn’t have a daughter to prepare for school in the morning, Brick would’ve probably be tardy on Mondays too.

 

Shrugging at the thought, Brick reached for his briefcase on the back seat then exited his vehicle.

 

At a chirp of his keys, Boomer and Butch finally rolled into their respective parking spaces.

 

Now that, was unusual. Brick wondered if Mojo had to threaten them again to get two ruffs out bright and early today. Butch’s vehicle had a fairly large dent on the front bumper though.

 

Being the _good_ big brother that he was, Brick waited for Boomer and Butch to get out of their vehicles with briefcases of their own.

 

An aggressive looking Butch Jojo, exited his black Jaguar with his black briefcase. He wore a pistachio green dress shirt, a dark green tie and black dress pants. He often kept his black jacket in his office to not bother with throwing it on until he felt like. Like Brick, Butch was also a general manager, looking over the automobile sales and home renovation firms.

 

“Morning Bro, sup with your car?” Brick casually asked his brother.

 

“Some stupid bitch ran into me this morning!” Butch complained and Brick released an “ah” in response. It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford to fix it, the green rowdyruff was just highly possessive when it came to his vehicle.

 

“I hope you didn’t threaten her, remember Mojo rinsed your ear out the last time you went too far,” Boomer chimed in. He wore a baby blue dress shirt, a dark blue tie, black dress pants and dark blue dress shoes, his black jacket hung casually on his right arm. Boomer, like his brothers was a general manager for the Jojo restaurant and the technological advancements firm. Brick originally managed this firm but ever since Boomer took up computer science and fell in love with coding, Brick agreed to switch and take the marketing firm instead.

 

“Fuck that monkey! My baby needs servicing!” Butch exclaimed, earning a chuckle from his brothers.

 

“Just take it to Mechanix, you can actually use benefit from the Jojo-Morbucks business alliance, you know?” Brick casually spoke to his brother.

 

Butch rolled his eyes, he didn’t trust the Morbucks family as far as he could throw them, and albeit, he could actually throw them very _very_ far. But he knew that Brick didn’t trust them either, it was just a matter of being cordial as the two most powerful organizations existing in Townsville.

 

“Whatever, i’ll try em out at lunch,” Butch scoffed out, adjusting his tie.

 

Brick turned to Boomer, “I pulled over to text,” was all his blonde brother said, making the two rowdyruffs shake their heads.

 

“You really had to pull over just to text?” Butch somewhat complained, Boomer was the fastest ruff, he could send a fully loaded paragraph of text in less than a minute.

 

Boomer nodded, “It was important to me, so of course I wanted to take my time, oh by the way Brick, Bonnie wants the three of us to help her bake cookies later,” he chirped out.

 

“Oh what type of cookies?” Butch chimed in, having a soft spot himself for his niece.

 

“Chocolate chip, “ Boomer chirped out.

 

“Oh nice,” Butch commented.

 

Brick glared at his brothers, “Boomer, I literally just dropped her off at school, why are you enabling her bad habits?”

 

Butch scoffed, “Says the one who got a five year old a cell  just so she’d stop prank calling people on your work phone,” he said calling his brother out his own habit enabling.

 

“Right?” Boomer humorously commented in agreement.

 

“I don’t have time for this,” Brick declared walking off without his good for nothing brothers that were cracking up in the short distance.

 

Ignoring them, Brick made his way into the building, heading straight into the elevator and set the floor to the sixth level. Unfortunately for him, he had another Utonium to face today and this time for the position of his personal assistant.

 

As much as he wanted to decline, his counterpart, Blossom Utonium, was the most qualified applicant yet for the position. Hopefully, she wouldn’t waste his time or this opportunity with that smart ass mouth of hers.  

 

**_DING!_ **

 

Releasing an irritated sigh at his thoughts, Brick composed himself for a day of work, exiting the elevator with his usual stoic face expression, walking straight past the pink puff that was speaking and filling out a form by the brown haired, middle aged, general secretary on this level, Barbara.

 

“You’re all set for your interview sweetie, have some more confidence, believe it or not Mr Brick is actually a very fair man, though he has his cold moments,” Barbara informed the nervous looking pink eyed girl.

 

Blossom took a deep breath and exhaled to calm her pounding heart, “Thanks, Barbara,” she thanked the friendly secretary.

 

“Good luck, sweetie, you’re on in ten,” Barbara informed, gesturing Blossom to have a seat.

 

Nodding, Blossom went over to the expensive looking chair benches and sat down. Hopefully Barbara was right, she needed this job to turn her life around. Now if only she could find a way to stay on Brick’s good graces to not get rejected or if luck was on her side, not instantly fired when she actually got the job.


	2. Doing What I Gotta Do To Make It

**Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters other than my Oc’s.**

  
  


Blossom Magenta Utonium quietly composed herself on the expensive looking benches. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, her soon to be boss for speaking it into existence sakes, was incredibly intimidating as much as she didn’t want to admit it. 

 

Unlike Boomer and to an extent Butch, Brick was the furthest thing from an open book. There was difficulty in interpreting his moves or even his thinking pattern, maturity made him damn near impenetrable to her advanced intellect, rendering it near useless. Then it wasn’t any help that she was damn near desperate for this job, if that got out she feared for the worst….if rejection wasn’t already at the top of that list.

 

_ No! _

 

_ I will NOT succumb to these thoughts! _

 

_ I CAN do this! I will land this job! _

 

**_DING!_ **

 

“I’ll pick up the chocolate chips during lunch hour,” came a familiar deep voice. 

 

“Ooo bittersweet or milk chocolate?” came another familiar voice. 

 

Blossom turned her head and released a small squeak at seeing Butch and Boomer walk out from the elevator, dressed in professional wear.

 

“Bittersweet is the best, besides the batter will be sweet enough, if we give her a sugar rush Brick will lose his shit,” Butch explained to Boomer. 

 

“True,” Boomer commented in agreement with his brother. 

 

“Good Morning, Barbara,” he greeted the general secretary.

 

“Morning Barbara,” Butch also greeted her.

 

“Good Morning Mr Jojo’s,” the general secretary greeted the two general managers as they made their way down the hall. 

 

Blossom held her breath at seeing the two rowdyruffs draw closer to her being.  _ Would they mock me for applying here? Oh no, this is terrible! _

 

“Good Morning, Blossom,” Boomer simply greeted her. 

 

“Morning Pinkie,” came Butch’s greeting as they both walked past her without any further comment. 

 

_ Oh…..Guess they knew that I would be here this morning then…. _

 

“Oh wait, I almost forgot!” Butch suddenly exclaimed and walked back over to the pink eyed redhead, fishing through his briefcase then held out a large white envelope to her

 

Blossom’s heartbeat picked up as she curiously looked up at Butch but didn’t hesitate to take it, hoping that he would explain himself. 

 

“It’ll come in handy, good luck,” Butch simply said and walked back down the hallway without a second glance.

 

_ I wonder what this is…… _

 

Blossom slowly opened the enveloping and pulled out a large card with an arrow shooting through a pink heart. 

 

_ Aw cute…. _

 

With a small smile, Blossom opened the card and read it: 

 

**The Brick Survival Guide :First Edition**

**You love rules, right? Anyway, follow these to coexist in the long term with my brother.**

**Consider this a favor, I don’t hate you but we’re not friends either. Brick is a picky son of a primate and you’re like the 15th personal assistant since March, yes you will get the job so RELAX. I’m just tired of seeing so many of his different bitches on this level.**

 

_ That explains why this job kept frequently appearing online…... _

 

**Rule #1 Punctuality**

 

**ALWAYS BE ON TIME! Brick is a JACKASS for punctuality! He WILL deduct your pay!**

 

_ Harsh….but not a problem….. _

**Rule #2 Attire**

 

**I really shouldn’t have to tell you about this but I will anyway since I’ve seen a few bitches lacking common sense. OFFICE ATTIRE ONLY!**

 

_ Oh wow…. _

**Rule #3 Absenteeism**

 

**Brick expects his personal assistants to be fucking wonder woman. Refrain from sickness and emergency leaves, if so run it by him, if he says no then he means NO. Bitches have gotten fired for this, don’t be one of them.**

 

_ Gosh….. _

**Rule #4 Smart Ass Comments**

 

**_-Side eye-_ ** **You’re the queen of this pinkie, control that tongue of yours or Brick WILL.**

 

_ To be fair, he’s just as smart mouthed as I am….but alright….. _

 

**Rule #5 Sweets**

 

**Brick won’t admit it but he still loves sweet things. Use condensed milk instead of sugar in his coffee, don’t be afraid to use things like cocoa powder, whipped cream, syrups etc etc. For breakfast: donuts, scones, smoothies and fruit could work, just don’t give him the same thing every day unless he specifically asks you too, comprende?**

 

_ Aww that’s kind of cute…..guess we have similarities after all….. _

 

**Rule #5 Senseless Questions**

 

**JUST DON’T! You’re already on thin ice, use that brain of yours.**

 

_ Sigh...I’m aware…... _

 

**Rule #6 Personal Calls**

 

**Have no personal calls from your work phone at your desk. Brick WILL bill you for it!**

 

_ Understandable….. _

 

**Rule # 7 Versatility**

 

**Like I said, he wants you to be wonder woman. He will have you doing the most but that’s what he’s paying you well for. You’re a perfectionist right? Don’t disappoint him.**

 

_ I think I can handle that….. _

 

**Rule #8 Permission**

 

**I shouldn’t have to tell you this but you’re a curious bitch, so don’t touch Brick’s stuff or poke your pretty little head in things unless he permits you to do so. His bark and bite are as equally terrifying, you have been warned.**

 

_ Well this was a no brainer….. _

**Rule #9 Attitude**

 

**_-Sigh-_ ** **Look, this is biased as fuck but you already look like someone that Brick hates, avoid conflictive situations as much as you can. He might not look it but he has a big heart and can be a kind person. I’m sure you’re both similar in more ways than one, I’m not your daddy so figure it out.**

 

_ Brick hates someone more than me? Shocker….. _

 

**Rule #10 Be Yourself**

 

**Shit, this might sound mushy and shit but look, you aren’t that bad of a person pinkie. You’re actually a cool down to earth chick, caring for people’s needs over your own and whatnot, so if I can see that then I’m sure that Brick can as well. Don’t tell anyone, but I’m actually rooting for you, so don’t get fired ok?**

 

Blossom blinked her eyes a few times then re-read that last rule.

Now she could see throughout his development, that green rowdyruff had humane traits and was a friendly guy when he wanted to be…..but this…..this… was  _ sweet _ . She more expected something like this from Boomer but to get it from Butch? It was so precious that it gave her a boost of hope.

Blossom sighed, being the people pleaser that she was, letting Butch down when he appeared to be rooting for her along with her family, was  _ not _ an option.  _ This job paid $7,000.00 a month _ .  _ I CAN do this! _

“Miss Utonium, Mr Brick will see you now,” Barbara, the general secretary informed her. 

Blossom put her pink purse of her documents back onto her shoulders and stood up, lightly neatening her clothes. 

Barbara gave her a kind smile, “Follow the halls pathway, Mr Brick’s office is the first on the right, it isn’t very hard to find, good luck dear,” she politely said to Blossom who nodded and swiftly walked down the hallway. 

Like Barbara said, Brick’s office really wasn’t hard to find, maybe there was a reason for that. 

Inhaling a breath, Blossom rose her fist to knock on the door. 

“Come in,” said a deep voice. 

She didn’t even get to knock...the hell? 

_ Okay…..  _

Blossom carefully opened the door to reveal her counterpart in professional attire, sitting at his desk going through a file. 

_ Guess I have to address him professionally now huh? _

“Good Morning, Mr Jojo,” Blossom politely greeted him, stepping into his office and closed the door. 

“Brick is fine,” he simply responded. 

_ Or not……  _

“Ok,” she simply responded, waiting for him to give her permission to sit down.

Brick’s office was dark...abnormally dark, in fact it was light cream walled, blood red tiles, black furnished and very very spacious, there was even a door with a red plaque that said toilet. If there weren’t any windows, Blossom could’ve assumed that Brick was a vampire afraid of sunlight. 

His necessities were all in his office, there were two large desks with black phones, a black couch set, a giant fax machine, a mini fridge and even a counter with a microwave.  _ Guess he doesn’t get out much? _

“Miss Utonium,” Brick finally spoke to her again, knocking Blossom out of her thoughts.

“Yes, Brick?” Blossom quickly answered him, only to see that his head was still down in that file.

“Why are you just standing in the middle of my office like a frightened gazelle?” Brick simply asked her. 

_ Shit.. _

Blossom found herself blushing from embarrassment, “Well...um...you didn’t give me permission to sit down,” she somewhat nervously answered, feeling a clench in her chest when he actually looked up at her….and with a small smirk too. 

“Have a seat Miss Utonium,” Brick professionally said to her, watching as nodded and took a set in front of his desk. 

“You can call me Blossom,” she chirped out, trying to appear super confident.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Brick professionally responded, returning his gaze to that file of his. 

_ So much for that….. _

Resisting the urge to pout, Blossom bit the inside of her cheek. Brick just loved to make her feel uneasy. 

“I’d like to receive the copies of your qualifications,” he spoke again and Blossom immediately reached her purse for her documents, whipping them out at the speed of light. 

“Here you are!” she chirped out, knocking over a picture frame on his desk that clattered on the floor. 

Blossom gasped and set the file on Brick’s desk, “Oh I’m so sorry!” she nervously exclaimed and swiftly picked it up, accidentally knocking over the black office phone and pen set when she extended her other hand on Brick’s desk. 

Pressing her lips together Blossom carefully picked up the phone, picking up all the spilled pens and its holder then placed them back on Brick’s desk while he sternly looked at her. 

“Do you wish to knock over anything else on my desk, Miss Utonium? At this point, feel free,” he professionally spoke with sarcasm dripping of his tongue. 

Embarrassed by her clumsiness, Blossom felt her confidence dropping by the second. She still had to learn how to not beat herself up for making mistakes, everyone made them, it was part of life. 

Brick observed his now delicate looking counterpart quietly sitting in front of him with her head down. Part of him was content that she was running her smart ass mouth and the other part of him wondered why she was beating up herself over something so little. It wasn’t as if she broke anything, geez.

“Miss Utonium,” he professionally addressed her. 

“Yes?” she softly responded. 

“Relax,” Brick simply said to her, putting the copies of her files in his drawer while pulling out a stapled document, a thumbtack and small vial of cherry red liquid. 

Surprised, Blossom rose her head to face Brick and he actually gave her somewhat of a gentle look before looking down at the paper he set on his desk. 

_ Was this a smidgen of the kindness that Butch told me about? _

“Thank you….,” she softly responded to him. 

Brick rose a brow, “What exactly are you thanking me for, Miss Utonium?” he professionally asked her, watching as she lowered her head again. 

Blossom’s breath hitched in her throat. What exactly  _ was  _ she thanking him for?

“I...I don’t know….,” she awkwardly responded and Brick rolled his eyes. 

“Raise your head Miss Utonium, I have five questions to ask you,” Brick professionally informed.

_ That’s rather specific…… _

Inhaling a breath of encouragement, Blossom rose her head and softly exhaled to choose her words wisely. Butch said she already got the job but maybe she still wanted to land the position like a regular person would, after all that was what she forced to become. 

“In a simple sentence tell me about your leadership style, its strengths and weaknesses,” Brick professionally said, looking her straight in the eyes. 

  
“Together we rise, together we fall, no man gets left behind,” Blossom answered without skipping a beat. It sounded like it was ripped out a page of cliche answers but what the hell, it was simple enough.

Intrigued, Brick countered that answer “What if a person couldn’t keep up?” he asked again. 

“Then I adapt, as a leader you know most of the strengths and weaknesses of your team, not everyone skips to the same beat, an improved approach could easily be implemented,” Blossom answered with more confidence, this was a part of her syllabus. 

“And how would you implement that improved approach?” Brick asked her again. 

“Communication, guidance and maybe some coaching here and there until they get the hang of it and can flow again on their own,” Blossom confidently answered again. 

“Interesting...and in your words, tell me how you think people would describe you?” Brick asked her again. 

“I’m bossy,” Blossom simply responded, earning a playful smirk from Brick.  _ Shit, it was the truth. _

“Is that all, Miss Utonium?” Brick humorously asked her. 

“Pretty much, If I said anymore, I’d be tooting my own horn, Mr Jojo,” she smartly remarked, cracking Brick up.

_ Oh shit..wait….I wasn’t supposed to make those! _

_ Dammit what if he decides to reject me? I was so close now i’ll be broke for the rest of my life and burden my sisters and-! _

_ Wait….is he laughing at me?  _

Blossom took in the sight of her cracking up counterpart. His laughter was soft and melancholic compared to his younger self. 

It was kind of cute considering Brick’s usual stone faced appearance. 

“Moving on Miss Utonium, what questions do you have for me?” Brick asked in a casual like manner. 

_ That was quick….. _

_ “ _ Well….I’d love to know your expectations of me over a ninety day period?” Blossom politely asked him, watching as he gave a light nod. 

“Blood, sweat and tears,” Brick professionally answered, as if that was most descriptive explanation in the world. 

“Is that all, Brick?” Blossom politely asked him. 

“Pretty much,” Brick professionally answered with a shrug of his shoulders.  _ Was he being civil with me? _

“You’re trying to scare me, aren’t you?” Blossom smartly remarked, watching as that smirk returned to Brick’s face. 

“Depends, do I send shivers down your spine, Miss Utonium?” Brick countered with a smart remark of his own. 

“Not quite,” Blossom politely answered, not wanting to show him any fear to feed off of in this particular moment. 

“I’ll remember that,” Brick professionally answered, turning the document in front of him towards her and placed a pen on it. 

“Sign at the three spaces with red asterisks by them,” Brick professionally informed her and Blossom nodded, picking up the pen and wrote her signature on them. She knew it was a contract but she didn’t bother reading it, this job paid well, she’d just do whatever she had to. 

Blossom picked up the contract to hand it back to Brick, but he placed his hand down on it, pulling it away to reveal a thumbtack and vial of a cherryish looking liquid. She gave Brick a skeptical glance. 

“See that square block and the end of the last sentence, dip the thumbtack in the vial, pierce your thumb then stamp your blood on the contract,” Brick professionally informed her, watching as she gave him a look of some confusion. 

_ What is this, a demon ritual? _

“Was I not clear enough, Miss Utonium?” Brick simply asked her, as if this was a completely normal thing to do. 

_ How could that even pierce me? _

“What’s in the vial?” Blossom cautiously asked Brick, who plainly looked at her.

“Do as I said and find out,” he simply responded. 

Blossom picked up the vial and observed its color, opening it to get a whiff of the scent. 

“Antidote x?!” she whispered in some surprise. 

“Took you long enough,” came Brick’s simple response again. 

_ Where did he even get this?  _

_ Wait...his father is Mojo Jojo, of course he’d get from him, duh Blossom.  _

Shrugging it off, Blossom did as she was instructed and dripped the thumbtack into the liquid, being careful to not have any excess liquid to drip on the contract, then pierced her thumb. 

It didn’t hurt that much or at all for that matter and at the sight of her blood she stamped it on the contract. 

Brick watched as Blossom covered the vial, placed it on the contract and held it out for him to take. 

Blossom watched as Brick simply picked up the vial on the contract, leaving the stapled papers in her hand and handed her a larger set of bundled papers.

“Congratulations Miss Utonium, you’re hired and you start immediately, go copy your contract at the fax machine then take seat at that desk over there, its your new work station, read through your expected tasks then await further instructions,” Brick professionally spoke, tossing the vial back into a drawer and pulled out a red macbook. 

“Got it, thank you,”Blossom said with a small smile and went over to the machine. 

Now it was just thirty days until her first paycheck. Quickly skimming through her contract, she discovered that the work day finished at 5:30pm and overtime could go up to 8:00pm. Maybe she could still keep her Starbucks barista job until the first month was over. That way her $250.00 weekly income could get her by, she just had to budget her money wisely for food purposes. 

Today was off to a better start than she originally thought, hopefully it’ll last.

**_10:00a.m. at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten_ **

Bubbles happily watched as her students worked on some learning worksheets for spelling, connect the dots, coloring and some simple math, that she found online. The website that she found them on got approved by the education so Bubbles was happy that for their good job praises. Maybe a raise was in her near future, because of this school’s reputation, Bubbles earned a monthly salary of $6,408.00 as opposed to her previous assistant’s salary of $3000.00. Technically speaking, Miss Keane retiring was the best thing that ever happened for her career.

Bubbles smiled at seeing her students connecting the dots on their papers, some now coloring and others chose the math section first, until her eyes landed on Bonnie Jojo. The girl’s entire worksheet was turned over and she was on that cell phone again.  _ Why did Brick even give a five year old an Iphone?  _

The girl was on that thing ever since her father left, geez. 

Putting on a sweet smile, Bubbles walked over to Bonnie in attempt to connect with the child. 

“Hi Bonnie,” Bubbles sweetly said to the little girl. 

“Yes, Miss Bubbles?” Bonnie politely responded, not glancing at the blonde woman for a second. 

“Please don’t use your cellphone during class sessions or I just might have to take it away from you and I’d rather not have to do that, so please put it away,” Bubbles politely said to her. 

Bonnie didn’t budge, “I’m already finished with my worksheet if that’s the real reason you’re giving me this speech,” she smartly remarked. 

Sara, the blonde girl with blue eyes next to Bonnie, looked at her in small curiosity. She had heard the quick scribbles but just thought that Bonnie was a quick writer. She brought her head back to her worksheet to not get told by Miss Bubbles but still listened in on them.

Bubbles lips slightly parted in surprise.  _ I handed  out those worksheets three minutes ago, how could she possibly be finished already? _

Just to make sure that the little redhead wasn’t bluffing, Bubbles picked up the bundled worksheets and flipped through them, page after page. The girl wasn’t lying, her worksheets were fully completed and properly too, not a single identifiable error on any. 

_ Holy shit….. _

Brick’s kid was a genius. She had to tell this to Blossom.

“Um, Bonnie?” Bubbles tried speaking to the girl again. 

“Yes, Miss Bubbles?” Bonnie politely answered, now playing candy crush on her phone. 

“May I ask how you finished these worksheets so quickly?” Bubbles sweetly asked her. 

“My grandpa taught me a lot of stuff when I was three,” Bonnie politely answered, not taking an eye off of her game. 

Bubbles pressed her lips together,  _ Mojo probably taught the kid beyond her age level… _

_ Now I need to find a way to teach her new things… _

“Bonnie, great job on your worksheets but you still need to get off that phone, so please put it away,” Bubbles sweetly said to her, watching as Bonnie sighed but listened to her anyway. 

Bonnie put her phone back into her skirt pocket and boredly put her hands on the table. 

“Thank you, Bonnie, since you’re finished you can have an early start to recess, why don’t you go outside to swingset, it’s really fun,” Bubbles cheerfully said to her. 

“If I go, will you push me?” Bonnie bargained, attempting to be social. Going outside was just temptation to go see her dad at work but he wanted her here. 

“Sure, but just for a little bit ok?” Bubbles reasoned and Bonnie nodded her head, getting up from her seat. 

Sara slightly glanced at Bonnie getting up from the seat and lifted her head at seeing her and Miss Bubbles walk off in the direction of the door. Maybe Bonnie was just like her? Her mom said to not talk about that but if she wasn’t the only one anymore, they could understand each other.  

_ Outside  _

Bonnie and Bubbles walked over to the swingset and Bonnie hopped onto the one in the middle, waiting for Bubbles to push her. 

Smiling at the girls eagerness, Bubbles pushed the swing, watching as a smile graced Bonnie’s cute face. The girl was practically Brick’s clone and she didn’t have to ask to know that he was protective of his daughter. He seemed to be rather sweet to her unlike his treatment to other people. 

Then again, the Jojo family on the whole was a case by themselves…

_ Wait…. _

_ Speaking of the Jojo family…. _

“Hey Bonnie?” Bubbles said to get her attention she swang. 

“Yes, Miss Bubbles?” Bonnie politely answered her teacher. 

“Would you mind me asking what exactly your grandpa taught you so that I can adjust to your learning level?” Bubbles politely asked her. 

“Sure, I’m practically done with grade school! But I still make a few mistakes with the syllabus,” Bonnie answered in detail. 

“Oh ok, what do you keep making mistakes on?” Bubbles asked again, trying to make conversation. 

“Social studies and writing short stories, grandpa says I sometimes lack description,” Bonnie answered again. 

_ That’s simple enough……I could just add it as an extra to her curriculum so the board won’t complain about her. _

“Ok, we can work on that together in class so you don’t feel out of place, ok?” Bubbles friendly spoke. 

“Ok!” Bonnie chirped out, obviously having fun on the swingset. 

“By the way Bonnie, what’s your family like?” Bubbles couldn’t help but ask. 

“What do you mean, Miss Bubbles?” Bonnie simply asked her. 

“I mean, your parents, what are they like?” Bubbles asked, hoping that was simple enough without prying too much. 

“Well my dad is a really busy man but I love it when he makes time for me and my mom, she’s a nice lady at heart,” Bonnie simply answered her teacher, making Bubbles even more curious. 

“Oh I see, what does your mom do?” Bubbles asked again.

“She works for grandpa Mojo, like daddy does, but in another city,” Bonnie answered. 

_ Hmm..I wonder who her mother is?  _

_ Maybe one of Brick’s fangirls? Then again he never did seem too interested in any of them.  _

_ There could be a possibility of her having powers, whether her mother was a regular citizen or not. _

“Oh ok,” Bubbles responded, ending the questions for now. She didn’t want Bonnie to feel as if she was being interrogated. 

“Please excuse me Bonnie, I have to announce a recess to the other students, would you be ok to swing by yourself for a few? Bubbles politely said to her. 

“Sure,” Bonnie simply answered and Bubbles stepped away from the swingset, watching the girl for a few more seconds before walking off to the classroom.

Upon entering the class again, she smiled at seeing her students peacefully doing their work. 

“Ok class, time for recess!” Bubbles cheerfully announced and the happy students got up from their seats, rushing out the classroom door. Giggling at their energy, Bubbles started to neaten up the classroom desks and chairs for their return. It did give her some time to engage in her thoughts on Bonnie, she was curious about the girl’s background. 

_ Meanwhile outside….. _

Bonnie quietly sat on the swing, watching as all of the other kids her age ran about playing with each other. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t socialize but she didn’t really want to. She was different from these kids and they were the reason why she didn’t mind not having any friends her age. 

With a light sigh, Bonnie pulled out her cellphone again, resuming her candy crush gaming. Vibrant colors sure were addicting to children’s eyes. 

“Hey, do you mind if sit next to you?” asked a familiar voice. 

Bonnie looked up from her phone to see that Sara girl standing in front of her. 

“Sure, Sara, right?” Bonnie politely said and the blonde girl nodded then a seat on the swing right next to her. Sara didn’t say anything for a few seconds so Bonnie resumed her game playing.

“So, how do you like this school so far?” Sara asked, trying to make conversation. 

“It’s ok, I’m used to being home schooled so it’s a bit different,” Bonnie answered, “What about you, do you like it here?” she asked in attempt to continue the conversation. 

“Oh, you’re just like me, I was homeschooled too, but it’s more fun being around others,” Sara chirped out and Bonnie nodded in understanding. 

“I guess i’ll get used to it,” Bonnie simply answered, not wanting to be a buzzkill. There were two boys coming in their direction.

“So, I was wondering…..about in class earlier with Miss Bubbles,” Sara nervously said, getting Bonnie’s attention. 

“What about it?” she simply asked the nervous looking blonde. 

“Well….you finished your worksheets really fast...so….I was wondering if you had pow-”

“Hey!” a boyish voice interrupted her, getting both girls attention. They saw two brunette boys standing in front of them. They were mostly looking at Bonnie. 

“What do you want, Tommy?!” Sara snappishly asked the first boy who scoffed at her. 

“I just wanted to properly introduce myself to the new girl, is that crime?” he sneered at Sara then looked at Bonnie again. 

Sara glared at him and Bonnie rose a brow in curiosity.

“Hello,” Bonnie simply said to the boy that seemed to be a bit on the rude side. 

“The names Tommy and this is Frank,” he said, indicating who his amigo was with his thumb. 

“Hello,” Bonnie simply said again, unsure of what these boys wanted. 

“So that man that dropped you off was Brick Jojo of Jojo Inc, all the adults know about him, what is he to you? the Tommy asked her. 

Bonnie uninterestedly looked at him, it was happening again, “What’s it you?” she sassed out in response. 

“Just curious is all, are you a Jojo as well, we never got your last name,” the Frank boy chimed in. 

“Yeah,” said Tommy. 

Bonnie rolled her eyes, “Isn’t it obvious?” she sassed out again and the two boys grinned at each other. 

Sara’s glared deepened at the both of them, knowing what they were up to. 

“So Bonnie, since you’re new here, you probably need some friends, to ya now hang out with and visit each other’s houses and whatnot,” Tommy said with a grin. 

“Yeah! What’s your house like? I bet you have a huge pool!” exclaimed Frank. 

Bonnie rolled her eyes again, “I’m not rich, since that’s what you’re obviously implying,” she smartly remarked. 

Tommy scoffed, “Says the girl with an Iphone,” he barked out, snatching it from Bonnie’s hand. 

“Hey!” she exclaimed reaching for it but Tommy stepped backward. 

“Yeah, my mom says those are really expensive,” Frank chimed in, catching the phone when Tommy tossed it over to prevent Bonnie from taking it back. 

Sara hopped off the swing and went after Frank, “Give Bonnie her phone back!” she exclaimed in annoyance, growling at Frank tossing it back over to Tommy. 

“What’s the problem with you guys?!” Bonnie growled out, going after both Tommy and Frank that kept tossing her phone back and forth between each other while she and Sara tried to get it. She was grateful that Sara had her back, these guys were being jerks. 

Frank scoffed, “What it’s not like you can’t afford a replacement, we can just keep this one!” he taunted. 

“Right, I’m sure that daddy will just buy you another one!” Tommy spat out in agreement, now pissing Bonnie off. THIS was why she didn’t like people her age. 

“GIVE. IT. BACK!” Bonnie screeched out, getting everyone’s attention, even Bubbles who was still inside. 

“Guys, stop it! You’re upsetting her!” Sara complained in annoyance, shoving Frank to down to the ground with an audible thud. 

“What is going on out here?!” Miss Bubbles exclaimed, suddenly appearing at the door frame. 

“GIVE ME MY PHONE!” Bonnie screeched out. 

“I’m just borrowing it for a few, sharing is caring,” Tommy taunted, backing away from the angry looking girl. 

“TOMMY, I’M NOT PLAYING! GIVE IT BACK!” Bonnie screeched again, fists now tightening dangerously. 

“Tommy! Give Bonnie her phone back this instant!” Bubbles scolded him but Tommy didn’t listen. 

The boy continued to taunt and avoid Bonnie as if it was all fun and games, “She’ll get it back in a fe-!

Tommy’s small body went tumbling off a few metres backward on the dirt, making everyone, including Bubbles, gasp dramatically. 

Bonnie had socked him right in the face with inhumane force, rendering everyone, even his partner in crime, Frank, completely silent in fear. 

Sounds of Bonnie’s hyperventilating echoed in the windy environment, all eyes watching as she slowly lowered her fist and went over to her dropped phone on the ground. 

Bubbles couldn’t believe what she just saw. 

_ Bonnie has powers! _

_ And she just hit a kid!  _

This meant that she had to inform the parents. 

_ Dammit _

Bubbles quickly made her way over to Tommy, lifting him onto her lap to see if he was alright. He had a bruise on his cheek and a few light scrapes on his knees and elbows, nothing too major and he was still conscious, groaning a tad bit but conscious. She released a breath of relief at that. 

“Bonnie, are you ok?” Sara’s voice cut the silence, making Bubbles head pop up to observe Bonnie’s current state. The girl was dangerously silent, just clutching her phone. 

Bonnie didn’t answer her, she just stood there like a mannequin. 

Tommy stood up from Bubbles hold, assuring his worried blonde teacher that he was ok.

“Bonnie, it’s ok, Tommy’s fine, we can talk this out,” Bubbles informed the girl but she still didn’t budge. 

“I need some air,” Bonnie softly said and shot up into a sky with a red streak of light, surprising everyone. 

“Bonnie wait!” Sara suddenly exclaimed, palms glowing yellow and bursted off into the sky after Bonnie on a large chuck of earth. 

_ What in the world?! _

_ Sara! _

_ I have two super students?! _

“Class i’ll be right back, please head back inside!” Bubbles exclaimed and shot off into the sky with a baby blue streak after her runaway students. Brick would  _ sacrifice  _ her to HIM if the stoic man came back this afternoon and found out that she let his daughter run away from school.

Being the fastest puff had its perks, it didn’t take Bubbles too long to catch up with her two students. 

“Bonnie! Sara! Halt this instant!” she exclaimed, popping up right in front of the two that abruptly stopped to not crash into her, surprised that their teacher was also a super like just like them.

A guilty looking Bonnie looked away from Bubbles stern face expression and Sara awkwardly put a hand behind her head. 

Bubbles sighed, dropping her stern look.  

“Girls, you aren’t in trouble, especially not you Bonnie, you were defending yourself I get it but violence wasn’t the way, you could’ve come and get me, I would’ve dealt with Tommy and Frank for you both,” Bubbles spoke with authority present in her tone. 

“Sorry, Miss Bubbles,” Sara apologised to her teacher and Bubbles gave a single nod, now looking at Bonnie whose head was lowered. 

“I’m sorry, Miss Bubbles,” Bonnie apologized, slowly lifting her head up, her eyes looked teary. 

Bubbles sighed again, “It’s alright for now girls, we’ll deal with this later,” she politely said to the two guilty looking girls. 

“Are you going to tell my dad?” Bonnie softly asked her with a frown on her face. She didn’t want to disappoint her father. 

“Unfortunately, I have to but I can assure that I shall reason with him so that he fully understands what took place today so you won’t get in trouble, that goes for the both of you, ok?” Bubbles reasoned and the two girls nodded at her. 

“Ok, good!” Bubbles chirped out, she handled this a lot better than she thought, though she still had to  _ actually _ face Brick this afternoon but she had plenty hours to spare. 

“Let’s head back to class girls!” she chirped out again and the two girls turned around, heading back in the school’s direction with Bubbles trailing behind them to ensure a safe trip back. 

**_12:00 p.m_ **

Butch opened up his briefcase and took his car keys before closing it and setting it down at the side of his desk. He looked more into that Jojo-Morbucks alliance benefit and saw that he could actually get a 40% discount on its replacement which meant that instead of paying $1000.00, he could just pay $600.00. 

Not that he was cheap but the extra $400 could go to better use, like a new paint job or something. Leaving his office, Butch made his way over to Boomer’s to see if his brother wanted anything for lunch. 

There was a bit of a distance between them but that was for privacy reasons, it wasn’t like the three brothers were conjoined at the hip, they already saw each other and talked to each other everyday. They didn’t live far apart either, just for emergency purposes. Usually on weekends, they’d all gather at Brick’s house for lunch and dinner on occasions, the man taught himself to throw down in the kitchen. Thank god for Bonnie’s existence. 

Butch opened his brother’s office door to see Boomer talking with the manager of the technological advancements firm, Dexter. 

“Hey Butch, wassup?” Boomer casually greeted his brother. 

“Butch,” Dexter formally acknowledged him, knowing that the man didn’t like the Mr attached because it made him feel old. 

“Hey Boom, Dex,” Butch greeted in his casual manner. 

“I was about to head out to fix my car and grab some lunch while I’m at it, want anything?” Butch offered. 

“Actually, I was about to head to lunch with Dexter, we have some things to discuss,” Boomer informed his brother. 

Butch rosea brow at that, “Anything major? What’s going on?” he inquired and Boomer shook his head. 

“It’s a guy problem, Dexter here wants to up his lady attraction game,” Boomer casually chirped out while Dexter looked somewhat embarrassed.

Butch smirked deviously, “Oh does he now?” he mischievously taunted, watching a blush creep up on the scientific male genius face. 

“W-Well I-I am simply perplexed as to the behavioral patterns when it comes to the opposite genders engaging in such a social exchange,” Dexter nerdily tried to explain himself, widening Butch’s smirk. 

“Righhht, so what you’re interested in is the sauce,” Butch tauntfully informed. 

“The sauce?” Dexter confusedly inquired, looking at Butch.

“Yes, the sauce!” Boomer chirped out, making Dexter turn to face him now. 

“The sauce?” he inquired again. 

“The sauce!” the two brothers said in usion. 

“Right, the sauce!” Dexter energetically exclaimed with a clenched fist before curiously looking in between the two brothers. 

“What is the sauce?” he confusedly asked the two.

“It’s your natural appeal to others, like your swag for instance,” Boomer explained. 

“My swag?” Dexter questioned not understanding such modern day slang and Butch nodded. 

“Yes your swag, your image, your sense of style, your flow, the first word that comes to mind when people see you,” Butch explained. 

“So what’s the first word you think of when you see me?” Dexter asked him in curiosity. 

Butch set a comforting hand on the curly redhead’s shoulder, “Don’t make me answer that, later Boom!” he chirped out and left his brother’s office. 

Dexter looked at Boomer who casually shrugged his shoulders in response.

The male genius folded his arms. 

_ Meanwhile….  _

Butch checked in on Brick to see if his elder brother wanted anything and like usual, he said no because he brought home cooked food but Brick occasionally asked for something sweet to snack on, usually when he had fired an assistant. 

“No sweets today?” Butch playfully asked him, knowing that this was tempting for the stoic faced redhead. 

“Already sent Miss Utonium out for a few,” Brick professionally answered and Butch rolled his eyes. 

“Of course you did,” he smartly remarked, “How’s pinkie doing so far? She getting on your nerves yet?” Butch inquired. 

Brick made no physical indication but spoke, “Not yet,” he simply answered. 

“Good, we don’t need her getting fired on the first day like the last three,” Butch complained. 

“They lacked competence,” Brick professionally answered and Butch rolled his eyes again. 

“But you hand selected them, so does that mean that you’re actually incompetent?” Butch inquired, earning a glare from his brother.

“Get out of my office, Butch,” Brick sternly commanded, cracking Butch up.

“Later!” Butch chirped out and closed the office door behind him, walking up the hallway out to the elevator, giving Barbara a single wave. 

He selected his floor and hummed a short tune on the way down. All he needed was to get his car fixed then pick up that bag of chocolate chips. Speaking of the chocolate, maybe he should’ve asked Brick to let pinkie pick up a pack for him while she was out. 

Oh well, it wasn’t like Butch was in a rush to get back to work anyway, his tasks were levelled out, thus giving him some hours to spare before Mojo lost his shit on finding him gone for too long. His primate father would be the cause of his own heart attack someday, the way the monkey always worked himself up when irritated. 

With a chirp of his keys, Butch hopped into his vehicle and sped out of the car park, hitting the streets with the purring of his motor filling the street. 

**_At Mechanix……_ **

“Hello, daddy?! I got a flat tire in town so I’m using your credit card to fix it!” a blonde girl loudly spoke on the phone.

“So how long will this job take?” a middle aged man asked the worker. 

“In forty-five minutes you’ll be all set sir!” the worker chirped out and the man nodded accepting his receipt.

“I’ll be back in exactly one hour, I hope you all are as good as you charge!” some lady exclaimed and headed for the exit. 

_ Ah the sounds of money coming in…. _

Buttercup Utonium in her work attire walked around her excessively large working base, inspecting the work of everyone on the manager’s clipboard. This section of Mechanix is where all the vehicles came in for either repairs or servicing, some more major than others.

Right now business was booming, there were vehicles from rookie drivers getting their oil and tires changed, some were receiving both an interior and exterior detailing, others a buff and polish, tint removal and change and some special orders for spray painting and vehicle glass coating was being done. 

“Chris, put your mask on those fumes will knock you out!” Buttercup exclaimed to one of her co-workers that irresponsibly spray painting a vehicle without proper safety. 

“Shit!” the latino man exclaimed in remembrance, “Could you get it for me? I can’t mess up this detail!” he exclaimed to Buttercup who dashed over to the safety station grabbed a mask and dashed over to Chris, putting on his half mask for him. 

“Thanks!” came his muffled response. 

“Your welcome,” she responded and continued about her rounds.

Usually, Buttercup would be among her co-workers in some hands on action but she was specifically instructed by Prince Morbucks to fill in for the manager’s absence today and was offered the pay rate of this position just for today, which meant a boost in her salary at the end of the month from $7,483.00 to $8,123.00. If only she could land the manager’s role, she could make damn near ten grand a month. That would give her even more flexible money for herself.

_ I’d be balling!  _

If only she knew about this job when she was five, she would’ve busted her ass for this instead of knocking people’s teeth out, it would’ve given her a head start on life. Man, adulting was tough. Not only did you have to now take care of yourself, you also had to provide for yourself on the whole which meant: living expenses, especially clothing and food.

Since both Blossom and Bubbles were vegetarians their food bill wasn’t the highest, though it would raise every now and then when prices went up and also the fact that Buttercup was a meat mouth. She loved her steak, dammit. On top of that they also had their own life insurance policies that the professor made them take out even though they were superhuman and they each also had to put aside money in savings accounts.

Then came the even more adult prone expenses, flying saved them money on transport or any vehicle fees on the whole however, owning a house came with a price! Thankfully the mortgage was paid off early but then came the  insurance fees, utility bills, especially water and electricity, God those things could get costly quick! To think that as a kid, Buttercup could have cared less about using up too much water or leaving the lights on as long as she wanted, geez.  

How did people manage to pay all these fees, save money, go out and buy themselves tons of stuff at the same damn time? At least Buttercup had her sisters to support one another, Blossom landing that job with Brick would make all three of their lives just a tad easier since existing as human being came daily obstacles as well, figures.

Chuckling at the thought, Buttercup finished up her checklist and switched the page over to the orders to be completed today. Most of them were already accounted for with the exception of what she just witnessed, so she propped up against the wall and filled them in. 

“Alright, guys easy with this one!” Buttercup heard one of her co-workers shout. 

She rose her head to see an exquisite looking Jaguar being driven into their base and whistled. It was a sweet ride, the owner must’ve had a lot of coin. It had a pretty large dent on the front bumper, nothing too costly to fix, in fact it didn’t even need changing. 

Her co-worker Todd, immediately put the car jack under it, giving it some leverage off the ground. 

Just because the owner appeared to have money meant that they should extort him.  

“Todd, I got this one, finish your tinting!” Buttercup extended her voice enough to reach him. 

“Alright!” Todd responded and walked off to continue what he was doing.

Sighing at her inner good person, Buttercup made her way over to the vehicle for a closer look at the damage, not taking notice of her spikey haired counterpart whose eyes widened at seeing her. 

“Bc?” Butch said to get her attention, watching as she rose her head at the sound of his voice, eyes widening like his previously was. 

“Butch?!” Buttercup lightly exclaimed, suddenly feeling butterflies in her stomach. 

She stood up and he walked over to her, engulfing her body in a hug. 

Now, there was reasonable explanation for such a civil and friendly greeting between the toughest fighters of the puffs and ruffs. Unknown to their siblings, Buttercup and Butch may have messed around a few times in college from drunken parties and came to a mutual understanding, leading to a good friendship. They lost contact after he became a GM for Mojo though…..

“I haven’t seen you in forever!” Buttercup friendly exclaimed, tossing her arms around him. 

“Right?! How have you been?” Butch friendly asked her, not letting her go yet.

“I’ve been good, just adjusting to life, ya know? And yourself?” Buttercup responded.

“Same here, though I’d never thought that you’d ever work for the Morbucks,” he answered and Buttercup chuckled. 

“Same here but the pay is good, so I’m not complaining,” she answered with a smile, pulling away from him before her co-workers got the wrong idea. 

“So about your car,” Buttercup said to redirect the conversation. 

“Right, a bitch knocked into me this morning, do I need another bumper or this one fixable?” Butch bluntly asked. 

“I can fix this, be grateful that I found you or else they would’ve made you spend a grand on a brand new one,” Buttercup informed him.

A smirk tugged at Butch’s lips, “My hero,” he teasingly responded, watching Buttercup release a chuckle.

“I’ll be right back,” she announced and lightly hovered off into the distance for some speed. She needed to do this before someone came and stuck their nose in her business. It wasn’t as if she was taking away from the organization’s money, she was just being fair but the Morbucks could be greedy for cash most of the time. 

Upon arrival to the tool section, Buttercup took a water heater and a bolt remover. She swiftly went over to the pipes and filled the heater up with water then went back over to Butch, who casually stood with his hands in his pocket. 

Butch watched as Buttercup swiftly removed the bolts to his headlight and then removed his front tire, undoing the rest of bolts to release the bumper.

Buttercup used her laser vision underneath the base of the water heater enough to get the water inside to a boil then poured the hot water on the inside of the bumper then used her hand to press out the dent with some of her enhanced strength. She repeated that action until his bumper looked brand new again then re-assembled everything.

She was didn’t even falter for a second, Butch was impressed. The girl was great at what she did, not that he’d expect anything less from his counterpart. 

“Alright, Butch you’re good to go,” Buttercup announced, lowering the car jack and removed it from under his vehicle. 

“Cool, how much?” he simply asked and watched Buttercup fold her arms in contemplation. She knew that the charge for dents ranged from $50 to $250 for no bumper replacement but even $50.00 seemed to be overdoing it for mostly using hot water.

“Honestly, I don’t even want to charge you for this, but shit all vehicles checked in must have a documented fee,” Buttercup explained to Butch, who nodded and reached into his pocket. 

“Here, it’ll keep the prudes happy,” Butch said, giving Buttercup a whole hundred dollar bill. 

“You sure?” Buttercup asked, taking the bill from his hand. 

Butch casually shrugged, “A hundred bucks is mere pocket change compared to the thousand you saved me from spending, its no problem,” he informed Buttercup who nodded and went over to the register girl to bill him. 

She wrote the receipt and gave Amanda, the girl at the register the money and watched as she scanned it onto their computer system then gave it back to her. 

“Here ya go,” Buttercup said to Butch, handing him the receipt and he thanked her. 

“Say, why don’t we catch up sometime, maybe over dinner?” Butch casually offered. 

“Are you doing this just because I saved you some money?” Buttercup playfully accused him, watching a smirk form on his lips. 

“Maybe, or it could be the fact that I haven’t seen you in so long and you look pretty hot in those coveralls,” he teased, watching her laugh. 

“When?” she friendly asked him. 

“Tomorrow night, around seven,” Butch responded, staring at her face.

“Sure,” Buttercup girlishly responded, facing heating up a bit at the way he was looking at her.

“Good, what’s your number?” he casually asked, whipping out his phone to enter the digits as she called it out. 

“Cool, i’ll text you later,” Butch informed and gave Buttercup another hug as a goodbye greeting then chirped the keys to his vehicle

“Oh, I almost forgot, your sister got the job!” he announced then hopped into the black Jaguar. 

A smile graced Buttercup’s face, that was great news for her sister’s mental state. She was still a bit put off about Brick being her boss though but what was life without challenges?

“Awesome, later!” Buttercup said with a wave and he honked the horn before turning and sped out to the exit. 

“You’re affiliated with the Jojo’s?” a sudden masculine voice startled her. 

Buttercup jumped around to see the head boss, Prince Morbucks, now standing not too far behind her. The tall and fairly chiseled auburn haired male stood in a tux, indicating that he had just returned from somewhere important.

“N-Not really, but were schoolmates growing up, if you want to count the former enemies part too,” Buttercup explained herself to not give him the wrong idea. 

“Ah, I remember that, the powerpuff girls, right? The group that my little sister was such a brat to join,” Prince said with a chuckle, earning a somewhat nervous smile from Buttercup. 

“No worries, Princess has always been bratty for her way, you learn to ignore her afterwhile, anyway, how is your manager role of the day working out for you?” Prince politely asked his employee. 

“It’s great actually! I wouldn’t mind filling in for Mr.Davis more on his absent days,” Buttercup chirped out, she couldn’t help but keep her boss impressed with her. 

Prince smirked, “Is that so? I just might keep that in mind, may I see the clipboard?” he politely said to her and Buttercup nodded, walking over to where she left it and picked it up. 

“Here you are, sir,” she formally said, watching as the man inspected the pages. She quietly stood in front of him until he was finished out of respect. 

“Nicely done, you deserved this opportunity afterall,” Prince praised her with a smile, watching as a flush of red decorated her cheeks. 

“Thank you sir,” Buttercup bashfully responded, attractive bosses were dangerous and it didn’t help that he was a Morbucks either. 

“Have you eaten, already?” Prince politely asked her. 

Buttercup shook her head, “I was going to have my lunch break at one, sir,” she politely answered and he smiled more at her. 

“Well then, it appears we’re in the same boat, care to join to me for lunch? My treat,” Prince offered, making Buttercup smile. 

“Sure,” she casually responded, it was nice of him to offer. This is why she always wanted to keep him impressed, the benefits were good.

“Good, see you at one, Buttercup,” Prince said, matching her casual tone, handing her back the clipboard then walked off with a wave. 

Smiling, Buttercup made her way over assess the output of her co-workers, ignorant to the some of the glares sent in her direction. She was a badass chick in a highly male dominant field, she was used to this kind of jealousy. 

**_12:40 p.m_ **

Blossom walked through the isle of a supermarket with a basket of goodies in her hand. There were semi-sweet chocolate chips, baking powder, vanilla extract, a box of multi-colored splatter decorated bonbons, a small box with a slice of red velvet cake and for her own personal cravings, a carton of strawberries. 

Brick had given her money specifically to purchase what he wanted and permitted her one item of her choice. That was rather kind of him to do, she could eat them for lunch instead of bothering to get any food. It seemed like he planned on baking something later, she didn’t picture him as a baker or to possess any cooking abilities on the whole but Brick was a man of many hidden abilities. 

Chuckling at the thought, Blossom made her way over to the cash register and placed her items on the conveyor belt. She’d come back later to do grocery shopping of her own when she wasn’t on Brick’s time. The man had her busy from the second she set the document with her work expectations down on her desk, not that she was complaining. 

Whipping out Brick’s cash, she paid the cashier and waited for the change and bill, pocketing those to return to Brick as instructed. There were no people to bag to Blossom swiftly packed it herself with Brick’s items in a medium sized brown paper bag and her carton of strawberries in a small plastic bag. 

She walked off, peacefully making her way out of the supermarket when three men busted inside holding huge guns, one large and the others a normal build. One had the audacity to point one right at her face. 

Fear filled shrieks of the cashiers and other supermarket goers could be heard behind her.

“Can I help you gentleman?” Blossom politely asked the three men looking at her as if she was a piece of meat. 

He simply pressed the gun against her forehead, “To the back of the isle toots, all of yer! NOW!” the gunman exclaimed while his meathead looking accomplances guarded the door like security. 

Blossom turned around and slowly walked, watching as the people rushed down the lane as instructed. 

“Move it, will ya!” the gunman aggressively exclaimed, hitting her in the back of the head with the gun...big mistake. 

Blossom swiftly rose her feet and jerked it back directly on his knee , knocking it out of socket and followed it up with a roundhouse kick to the jaw, sending the pathetic robberflying backward through the door.

Before his buddies could react, Blossom froze their guns solid with her ice breath, watching the shock fill their faces. 

“Are you done?” she politely asked the two men that looked at each other before charging at her. 

“Guess not,” Blossom chirped out, dodging a frozen gun strike to head and high kneed the bigger guy right in the stomach then jaw when he hunched over in pain and sent an upwards elbow strike to the other guy’s nose, with enough force to break it and finished it off with with a downwards elbow to the back of his neck when he bent to clutch his nose. 

“FREEZE POLICE!” exclaimed three strong built police officers with their guns out. 

Blossom blinked uninterestedly at seeing them lower their guns to deal with the crooks on the floor while one took care of the guy outside. 

“Nice response time,” she bitterly spoke and strolled through the door with her bags in hand, then took off into the sky. It wasn’t as if they wanted to pay her in the first place so it really didn’t make any sense to stick around for a handout. 

Heh, they didn’t even want to acknowledge her presence and to think she busted her ass for the police force for the majority of her life. At least no innocent people were hurt, she was partially content with that. 

Shrugging those types of thoughts out, Blossom landed at Jojo Inc and swiftly made her way to the door past a smoking Boomer. 

_ Wait wait wait _

Blossom stepped backward to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. 

Boomer was in fact smoking right outside of the organization’s entrance and not cigarette either but a thickly packed blunt. People smoking didn’t surprise her, just that for whatever reason, she never just never thought that Boomer would be one of them, it seemed more like a habit that Brick or Butch would have, not that she was judging him.

Boomer simply looked at her then back at the parking lot, “Everyone needs their release, Blossom,” was all he said to her, blowing out a mouthful of thick foggy smoke.

“Don’t assume that I was judging you,” Blossom simply responded and walked into the building, hitting the elevator button and went inside.

Maybe it was the way she carried about herself that people felt the need to explain themselves to her? Nothing about her life right now could even grant her permission to judge anyone. She wasn’t perfect, no person was perfect only objects and tasks could be done to perfection. That was something she wished more people could understand but whatever. 

**_DING!_ **

Blossom stepped out of the elevator, greeting Barbara and swiftly made her way to Brick’s office, entering and closing the door. 

“Set them on the couch,” Brick simply instructed, not sparing Blossom a single glance and she nodded anyway, fishing into her pocket for the bill and his change, setting it on his desk. 

She walked over to the couch sat Brick’s bag of stuff down then finally made her way over to her desk, pulling out her strawberries to consume while she got on those entry forms Brick gave her before she left. He said he was leaving early today and wanted this stack of forms, a long list of uniform orders to be booked and schedule a photographer for photoshoot pertaining the new work ID badges for the marketing firm to design for the restaurant business that Boomer managed. 

_ You know what… _ .Blossom picked up the black work phone and looked at the number to the firm on the uniform’s listing, dialing it in.

_ I should probably do the calling first, last thing I need is unanswered phones closer to the end of the workday.  _

Hearing the soft beeps of the phone buttons, Brick stole a small glance at Blossom, watching as she began to speak to the manufacturer for the new company uniforms. 

At least Blossom had the common sense to handle the calls first since it was already after one in the afternoon. Brick brought his face to his macbook to resume his silent video watching of kiddie measurements for proper underwear buying for Bonnie.

_ Seems like she’d survive day one, after all. _

**_2:30 p.m. Pokey Oaks Kindergarten_ **

“Ok kids, class is over, you may go outside to await your parents, see you all again tomorrow!” Bubbles chirped out and opened the door for the eager children rabling out goodbye’s to her and their friends. 

She made sure to set Bonnie, Sara, Tommy and Frank aside so she could speak to their parents one on one about what happened today. Bullying and violence were unacceptable at this school, even if it sounded a bit hypocritical of her.

Bubbles stood under the door frame, waiting on their parents. Bonnie saw this and sighed, her dad was making time to pick her up from her first day of school and had to hear about this nonsense.

Sara put a comforting hand on her back, “Don’t worry, Miss Bubbles is really nice, she won’t try to get us in trouble,” she said to cheer up her friend.

Bonnie smiled at her, “Thanks, Sara,” she kindly said to the blonde. It was nice knowing that she wasn’t the only super kid here and she thought Sara was cool too. She finally had a friend her age, maybe that would distract her father from the poor news.

Speaking of her father….

“Bonnie, your dad is here!” Miss Bubbles informed her.

Releasing another sigh, Bonnie hugged Sara goodbye and clutched her Elmo doll as she walked off with her school bag on her back to the doorframe where Miss Bubbles was. 

Brick immediately squatted down for his daughter to give him a hug, “Hey Bon Bon,” he friendly spoke to her, watching as a smile graced her lips before running into his arms. 

“Hi Dad!” she now happily exclaimed, releasing a cute giggle at him planting kisses on her cheek and lifted her onto his side, now standing up with an arm secured around his daughter.

Bubbles smiled at their father - daughter interaction, it was adorable. Too bad she had to inform Brick of what happened today.  

“How was your first day, Bon?” Brick asked his daughter with a smile. 

“It was good...but um…,” Bonnie hesitated to say, making Brick raise a brow. 

“About that,” Bubbles decided to chime in and Brick turned to look at her.

“There was a situation at recess where she punched a fellow classmate, giving him a few bruises for taking her phone from her, as much as I understand it was self defense, I don’t tolerate acts of violence especially since she is just as a danger to civilians as you and I,” Bubbles informed Brick who turned to Bonnie again. 

“Well you see….what happened was, he took my phone and didn’t give it back even though I asked him several times so I got mad and punched him, I didn’t mean to hurt him, I swear!” Bonnie tried to explain herself under her father’s curious gaze, lowering her head in shame at his silence. 

“I see,” Brick simply responded using a finger to lift his daughter’s chin up, “I’m not mad at you, Bonnie,” he informed her, watching her watery red eyes. 

“You aren’t?” she softly asked with a sniffle and Brick wiped away the tear that rolled down her cheek. 

“Of course I’m not, you were targeted and tried to reason before a physical lash out took place, I couldn’t say the same for myself at your age, so I’m proud of you, kiddo,” Brick said with a smile and kissed Bonnie’s cheek again, making her smile. 

“I love you, Dad,” Bonnie sweetly said to her father. 

“I love you too, Bon Bon,” Brick friendly said to his daughter, watching her cute smile.

Bubbles didn’t want to interrupt all the sweetness, like really she was practically made out of sugar itself but, she still needed Brick to not have Bonnie physically lash out on another student. 

“Brick if you don’t mind, I’d love for no more physical outbursts in my schoolyard, if you’d be so kind,” Bubbles sweetly said to him with her arms folded.

Brick wanted to roll his eyes, “ Bonnie no more fighting in school,” he simply instructed his daughter. 

“Ok, Dad,” Bonnie chirped out in response. 

“Cool, let’s go to the mall, I want to take you shopping,” Brick informed the smiling girl that got happier. 

“Yay!” she happily cheered and Brick walked away from a slightly annoyed Bubbles.

_ What kind of discipl-! _

Bubbles put her hands on her hips, “Brick!” she exclaimed his name in a scolding manner and Brick simply just waved her goodbye in response. 

Bubbles released an annoyed huff and recomposed herself to meet the other parents. At least Brick showed that there were more sides to him than a stone cold wall. Maybe Blossom wouldn’t have that much of a hard time after all.

**_The Mall Trip…._ **

Brick secured Bonnie in the passenger’s seat then got into his vehicle and drove away from the Kindergarten to head over to the mall. She was a growing girl so while her clothes were already roomily sized, the girl still needed underwear to suit. 

Usually her mother and nonsensical aunts, handled Bonnie’s underwear shopping just because it was a more common thing for females to do, but since he wanted to ask nothing of that sleazy woman, Brick decided to take it into his own hands. According to the video, Bonnie should be approaching a size six in underwear soon but just to be sure, he’d have one of the sales clerks measure her. 

“So Bon Bon, anything else you wanna share with daddy about your first day of school?” Brick friendly asked his quiet daughter that was clutching her Elmo doll. There was temptation to get Bonnie more sesame street character dolls but he didn’t want to spoil her. 

Bonnie thought for a minute before her eyes suddenly lit up, “Oh yeah! I made a friend, her name is Sara, she’s a super just like us, dad!” she chirped out. 

Brick rose a brow, “Isn’t that the same girl you sat next to this morning?” he asked, recalling the images in his mind. 

“Yes, that’s her, she’s really cool and even tried to help me get my phone back,” Bonnie chirped out again. 

“Oh that’s good to hear, what kind of powers does she have?” Brick friendly asked to make conversation.  

“She can control the earth!” Bonnie chirped out. 

“Really? What can she do with it?” Brick asked her again. He had a few people in mind that possessed earth elemental abilities.

“Well….,” Bonnie said, gathering her thoughts. She and Sara talked a lot about their powers during lunch but she only actually saw her use it to fly. 

“She uses it to fly, kind of like a skateboard,” Bonnie chirped out. 

“Oh, that’s pretty cool,” Brick chirped out, so the girl was Terra’s daughter. She seemed to have good control over her powers for her age.

“Yeah!” Bonnie cheered out, obviously happy that she made a friend. 

“Well, I’m happy that you made a friend your age, baby girl,” Brick friendly said to his daughter, turning a corner to head into the mall’s car park. 

Bonnie happily smiled, “Does this mean I can invite her over sometime?” she bubbly asked her father whose eyes were searching for an open parking space. 

“As long as her parents permit, then yes, she can,” Brick answered, turning into a free space and parked his vehicle. He undid his seatbelt and Bonnie’s then picked the giggling girl up to sit on his lap, opened the door and placed her outside then finally got out and closed his door, chirping the keys. 

“That was fun!” Bonnie chirped out, holding her dad’s hand. 

“I bet it was, baby girl,” Brick teased and walked over to the mall’s entrance hand in hand with his daughter. 

Now this part of fatherhood was dangerous. Kids got distracted easily, not to mention getting attached to things that they saw on display at store windows. 

Because Bonnie didn’t have much toys since HIM use to summon things for her to play with growing up, Brick didn’t mind buying her a few. What he didn’t want however, was for him to buy it  and a couple days later, she became bored with it. Nope, nope, nope, there would be ZERO unnecessary toy buying. Not while he had something to say about it!

_ Fifteen minutes later……. _

Brick and Bonnie walked into the children’s clothing store holding bags of: a tea set, an easy bake oven with several different refill treat packets and several types of pink and recolored hair bows. Seems like Brick wasn’t as immune to Bonnie’s puppy dog eyes as he thought he was.

Oh well, his princess was happy and if she got tired of anything he could always have Blossom sell it online. 

They went over to the girls section and Brick asked the worker there to measure Bonnie for him. He watched as the bubbly redhead interacted with his daughter and it reminded him of the moments that Berserk and Bonnie had when she was younger. They still didn’t get along much back then but still pulled it together for co-parenting purposes….and now, they couldn’t be in a room together for long without some type of argument starting. 

Words couldn’t describe how happy Brick felt when he won custody of his daughter and Berserk moved to Citiesville just because she was upset, not that he was complaining. 

**_-Buzzzzz-_ **

**_-Buzzzzz-_ **

**_-Buzzzzz-_ **

  
  


Brick’s personal phone vibrated in his pocket, indicating that he received some text messages. Glancing at Bonnie and the lady once more, he pulled out his phone to see who was trying to contact him so badly to send three texts one after the other. 

_ Speaking of the wicked witch… _

There were five missed calls from none other than,  _ Berserk Plutonium. _

**_Hoebo_ ** _ : Brick, why aren’t you answering my calls?! _

**_Hoebo_ ** _ : You know what? Whatever! Just know that I’m taking Bonnie this weekend. _

**_Hoebo_ ** _ : I have visitation rights, Brick! Bonnie needs her mother in her life too ya know... _

__

Brick rolled his eyes, unfortunately he couldn’t deny that last sentence. Bonnie did need her mother, whether he could tolerate her or not. 

__

“I’m back, Dad! The lady said that I’m near a size six!” Bonnie chirped out to her dad. 

__

“Ok, Bon, let’s find go some undies you like,” Brick casually said to her, taking her hand to stroll over the underwear section. Of course it was mostly pink, purple and a bunch of other pastel colors.  

__

“Ooo!” Bonnie excitedly exclaimed, running off to chose her own underwear. 

__

“Bonnie!” Brick sternly called out to her. 

__

“A size six and made of cotton, I know Dad!” she snootily said to him, searching through the different styles on her own. 

__

Shaking his head, Brick decided to return her mother’s text:

**_Brick_ ** _ : Alright _

Of course he got an instant reply: 

**_Hoebo_ ** _ : See you on Friday night. _

With a sigh, Brick put his phone back in his pocket and looked over at Bonnie who now had a cute looking pink basket in her hand filled with lots more underwear than he planned on purchasing today. He really should read up on getting kids out of the “wanting everything they saw” phase. Fatherhood truly was a journey with much to learn, especially with a daughter.

__

**_7:30 p.m at Brick’s House….._ **

__

“Your  second batch of cookies are finished, uncle Butch!” exclaimed a happy Bonnie with braided, pink bowed hair. 

__

“Awesome,” Butch, with his hair slicked back in one with a pink bow responded, putting on a oven mitt and took the cookies out to cool. 

__

“Don’t forget the milk!” Boomer with bowed up pigtails shouted to remind the two in the kitchen. 

__

“We won’t, uncle Boomer!” Bonnie happily exclaimed, taking the carton of milk from the fridge. 

__

She flew over the dining room table and poured milk in everyone’s pink and white tea cup, making sure that her father with the longest braided hair of them all, got his milk first. 

__

“Thank you, Lady Bonnie,” the two rowdyruffs formally said in usion. 

__

Bonnie released a dazzling white smile, “Your very welcome!” she beamed out, now squealing at her uncle Butch placing cookies on everyone’s plate. 

__

Brick looked down at the hardest looking cookies ever.

__

_ Butch what the fuck? _

__

“Yay! Tea party has begun! Dig in everyone!” Bonnie happily exclaimed picked up her cookie. 

__

Brick and Boomer watched as Bonnie dipped her cookie in the milk and attempted to bite into it. 

__

Bonnie’s small teeth chomped down on the lightly wet cookie but it didn’t seem to be chewable. She looked at her uncle Butch who smashed his cookie into pieces and poured it into his milk, eating it like cereal with a spoon.

__

Trying to to be open minded, Bonnie dipped the cookie in the milk for a longer period this time then brought it to her mouth again. Chomping down on the tiny crumble of cookie dust that went into her mouth. 

__

“Mhmm,” Bonnie weirdly said to herself, cracking Brick and Boomer up. 

__

Skeptical of the cookie being edible, Bonnie clunked it on the table. She looked up at her cracking up father when it didn’t break.

__

“Um, uncle Butch?” Bonnie started to say. 

__

“Yeah, Bonnie?” Butch casually answered, eating his cookie cereal. 

__

“Um,” Bonnie hesitated, wondering if she might end up hurting her uncle’s feelings. 

__

“You say that honesty is the best policy, right?” Bonnie asked him for reassurance. 

__

“Always, kiddo,” Butch casually responded, placing a spoonful of cookie rocks into his mouth. 

__

“Well…,” Bonnie started again, looking at her dad who encouraged her speech with a nod. He had a smirk on his face though. 

__

“What’s wrong, you don’t like the cookie?” Butch casually asked her, cracking Brick and Boomer up more.

__

Bonnie shrugged her uncertainty away, “Well to be blunt uncle Butch….I wouldn’t even feed these to the neighbors cat!” she beamed out, sending Brick and Boomer into a fit of laughter. 

“Harsh, not even Mr Whiskers?” Butch chuckled out. 

__

Bonnie smiled brightly at her uncle, “You’d break all his teeth!” she beamed again, drawing tears from her father and uncle Boomer. She was roasting Butch’s cookies and didn’t even know it.

__

Cracking up himself, Butch tried to answer her, “I-I’ll t-try f-for softer ones next time,” he practically laughed out and Bonnie happily looked at him. 

__

“It’s ok uncle Butch you tried, on the bright side it could be a Frisbee!” Bonnie exclaimed, sky rocketing a hard cookie through the kitchen window, thank God for her own sake, that it was open and not closed. 

__

“Let’s call it a night!” Brick suddenly announced on sight of Bonnie reaching for another cookie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Drop a review and let me know what you think of the events that took place, xoxo.


	3. Stability Is Worth The Sacrifice

**_Later that evening….._ **

Bonnie floated in front of the bathroom sink, brushing her teeth for bed in her red nightie. Her dad and uncles helped her tidy up from all the baking and currently were downstairs chatting about work-related stuff, the usual. Spitting the foamy paste in the sink, Bonnie rinsed her mouth, patting her lips dry with her red mini hand towel and flew out of the bathroom, down the stairs. 

The hair bows sporting trio of brothers each bore drinks in hand, discussing their expectations for the rest of the week. 

“According to Mojo, there is an existing decline in the restaurant's profit numbers. What’s going on?” Brick asked Boomer, watching as the blonde sighed and gulped his drink. 

"Multiple things. There was a situation I had not been informed of where a waitress and a customer got in each other's faces. 

“What?” Butch commented in surprise.

Boomer nodded. “ _ Mhm. _ She was a recent addition to north location and the client just so happened to be one of those self-proclaimed food bloggers with a large following nonetheless. He has an…..acquired taste and kept requesting food to be remade which is money out of our pockets and the waitress, Irene, according to her statement didn't appreciate his wasting of food and their time, so he left a negative video review across his social media, declining sales in that particular restaurant with other people  now leaving negative reviews of past experiences. On acknowledgment of the circulating video, the onsite manager contacted me and fired the waitress so I had public relations issue a statement of apology, offering the blogger a discounted special if he gives the establishment another try."

“Shit.”

“Then I had to issue an early appraisal to promote versatility and ensure the food was of the finest quality then ensure etiquette training of the waiting staff for dealing with complex customers, again more money out of our pockets.”

"And the manager said not jackshit to you immediately?! Oooh, they couldn't try that shit with me, you're too damn lenient with the staff!" Butch chastised his brother, not to tear him down but instead toughen him up. 

Brick shook his head, pinching his nose in disapproval. “Butch is right, fire that manager. I have someone better in mind but Boomer, you run the staff not the other way around, if they don’t respect your authority outside of paychecks then this cycle will always continue.”

“It’s not like they don’t respect me but I trust them enough to make the right decisions. What’s the point in authority if I don’t believe in their abilities? Yes, Katy should’ve contacted me asap but I’m proud of the way she handled the situation without relying on me,” Boomer defended himself. 

"So you think sharing your rightful authority makes a better staff? If that shit didn't negatively affect profit, would she have told you? You just cleaned up her messy aftermath. Her contract specifically outlines her job requirements, regularly reporting to the general manager is one of them. Clearly, she thinks highly of herself to do your job for you, don't fuel that shit!"

Boomer rolled his eyes. “Not everyone has to be a prick of a boss like you Butch. At least my workers aren’t afraid of me.” 

_ Scoff _ . “So what? A threat every now then never hurt anyone’s wallet yet, especially not mine  _ unlike _ some of us on this couch,” Butch sneered to Boomer’s narrowing eyes. The ruff was way too sensitive to criticism, if he put the same effort from his drawings into his work, there wouldn’t be any problems of this caliber.

Brick sighed, attempting to diffuse the matter before it got out of hand. “Look let’s not-!”

“ _ E _ -Excuse me,” Bonnie’s innocent voice cut through their conversation. The three rowdyruff men turned to see the little redhead standing at the bottom of the staircase, timidly staring at them. 

Fighting off her nervousness, Bonnie spoke, clutching her hands together. “Umm…. _ I _ -I just wanted to say goodnight.” She disliked when the people she loved argued with one another but it wasn’t her place to intervene. 

“Its ok Bon, come here,” Brick hand gestured for his daughter to get closer. When she did, he opened his arms for a hug, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Goodnight, Bonnie, “I’ll check on you in a few ok? Your mother should call any minute now,” he said to her now smiling face. 

"Ok. Goodnight, dad," she returned his greeting, hugging her uncles' goodnight before ascending the staircase to her bedroom. Unlike most normal kids, Bonnie didn't have the luxury of physically talking to their mothers, basking in their comfort nor even snuggling against their chests at night, but her gratitude never faltered. 

Her mom called still called for her every night to video-chat, seemingly happier that now that it didn't have to go through her dad first. Berserk would send clothing, shoes, underwear and stylish accessories in the mail. Other times her mom would visit and take her out or spent time hanging out with her aunts and although her father didn't seem to like them very much, she always had tons of fun. 

Bonnie just wished her mother didn’t choose to live so far away from her but still understood the complexities of a dysfunctional household when she saw one. Mom and Dad hated each other, that she knew very well. They were both dangerously scary when angered, workaholics with scorching hot tempers. She remembered overhearing the loud turned hushed arguments when she came around, the heavy tension in the air during family outings, the day mom moved out, the court case. 

Sighing, Bonnie plopped herself on the dark pink bed sheets, clutching her Elmo doll as she waited for her iPhone to vibrate. 

But one thing was for sure.

**_Buzz. Buzz. Buzz._ **

Bonnie’s lips curled into a soft smile.

_ My parents love me. _

"Hey, mom!" Bonnie enthusiastically answered her phone.

_ "Hi, sweetie! How was your first day of school?" _

* * *

 

**_At the Puffs Household…._ **

__

Bubbles, with a can of Redbull, sat on her bed, scrolling through registered, school board approved websites, downloading worksheets for her students. Bonnie, in particular, she was willing to go the extra mile for. It was her duty as a teacher to accommodate every student, despite their various learning capabilities and create well-rounded pupils to pass onto the first grade. While this personally was not her first attempt, Bonnie was at the level of a sixth grader and required a completely different learning experience to make somewhat enjoyable. 

Slurping her drink, Bubbles continued to scroll through the mass.

The average curriculum for a sixth grader included: language arts, comprehension, vocabulary, math, science, and social studies. Therefore she could tests Bonnie's strengths and weaknesses in a 24 worksheet test. 

The girl was already articulate in speech, so she’d just have Bonnie participate more in class to keep her talking, distribute daily creative writing topics and assign frequent book reports to keep her occupied. The further in advance Bubbles planned, the less pressure on her shoulders to deliver during the weeks to come. It was a hefty load of work for a kindergarten teacher but still worth losing sleep over.

_ *Yawn." _

Bubbles glanced at the miniature time projection at the corner of the laptop. It was now 10:00 pm.

Blossom should return in an hour or so, the redhead had speedily returned home just to run off to her barista job before she could receive the news. Apparently, her sister intended on balancing two jobs until the end of the month, that was smart for some extra cash in hand. The sooner she pulled her weight the quicker Bubbles could get her photography business afloat and invest in a good quality single lens reflex camera, like the Canon 80D.

Buttercup, on the other hand, was all snuggled up in bed with a snickers bar, texting a certain someone. Her day was a great one, she got a boost in salary, reacquainted with an old friend, her boss took out for lunch at some fancy restaurant and she more or less had a date tomorrow night. 

_ A date… _

Instinctively, a blush encompassed her cheeks, flushed by the embarrassing projections of their ‘love-making’ in her head.

_ *Groan.* _

She buried her face into the pillow.

For a tough guy, Butch's touch was gentle, mesmerizing even. The sole of his fingertips trickled down her body, his lips suction cupped on her skin, wearing out its invulnerability. He ravished every inch of her, igniting a flaming addiction to his intimacy.   
  
_ Pllf! _   
  
Buttercup blew into her pillow, turning over to stare at the ceiling, tongue gently lubricating her bottom lip. Their little 'meetups' occurred not once, not twice, becoming a filthy habit between the two. What were they back then? Friends? Enemies? Frenemies?

By Google's definition, friends with benefits. So they had kept it at just that, bonding and unbiasedly learning about one another along the way. Such pity adulthood drifted them apart, working long hours just to make a comfortable living. They moved on and grew as individuals.

But now...they have reunited again. 

_ Chime! _

That was him. Grasping her Huawei p20 pro, Buttercup read his text.

**_Butch_ ** _ : You K.O on me BC? _

**_Buttercup_ ** _ : Nah, still up. Scrolling through memes.  _

**_Butch_ ** _ : Sweet, send me some good ones. I’m bored. _

**_Buttercup_ ** _ : Me: Randomly tosses $100 worth of stuff in my cart. The cashier: That’ll be $100.  Me:*Surprised Pikachu*  _

**_Butch:_ ** _ Lol, sounds accurate. _

**_Buttercup_ ** _ : Lmfao, right?!  _

**_Butch_ ** _ : Keep em coming.  _

**_Buttercup_ ** _ : When you leave the pot in the sink because it “needs to soak” *Savage Patrick* _

**_Butch_ ** _ : Lmao, Brick fucking hates this. *crying laughing emoji*  _

**_Buttercup_ ** _ : Is this how you keep a man? *Cringey food meme of self-boasting* _

**_Butch_ ** _ : In the hospital. _

**_Buttercup_ ** _ : *Crying laughing emoji* _

* * *

 

**_The next morning….._ **

**_7:00 am_ **

In her work attire, Blossom stood in the kitchen quickly preparing a simple breakfast of bagel sandwiches for everyone. She didn't return home until 11:30 pm last night, cleaned up at closing hour, scored a last minute grocery trip at the 24-hour mini mart, then performed her usual at home. Swept and mopped the house, vacuumed the rugs, washed up the dishes and took out the trash and even she could not sleep.

While troubled by a mild case of insomnia, the puff had chosen to prepare a draft of the thoughts haunting her mind, calculating the liabilities:

Taxes- $300.00

Utilities- $405.00 

Monthly food- $382.00 or less, depends.

Other expenses- $50- $100.00

And those were only the shared ones. There was still insurance, clothing, shoes, and leisurely activities.

Not only did she now have to pay her equal stance in the bills, but it was only fair if for a short period of time, that she made a generous contribution. Buttercup and Bubbles had been covering her butt for two years, Blossom wanted to not only pay them back but free herself of the bulky house chores. Sometimes she got really annoyed when her sisters didn't bother to clean up after themselves just because they knew she had extra time on her hands. That didn't give them the right to be total slobs but unfortunately, her current financial situation had no room for complaint. She needed to be her own idol and make boss moves, without stepping on toes that is but to simply put it, a change was about to begin.

Blossom made the decision to keep her Barista job until it became a mere extra and not just a favorable bonus. The branch manager had no intention of leaving anytime soon, seems to have developed a competitive spirit when she came along as if her past superhero status got her any favors in this world. That aside, if the vacancy did present itself she would apply for it. 

Her next issue was capital. Her savings account only contained $850.00 from strict budgeting over the years, barely enough to cover any serious rainy day need. It needed to be at a safe $4000.00 after so long. She also applied for a security job that paid $774.90 bi-weekly from the online advertisements. A third shift job she didn't really mind and besides what security was better than a Powerpuff's? 

Sighing, Blossom slid her sister's breakfasts in the oven. She put hers in a ziplock bag and headed for the door. Arriving to work half an hour early was detailed in her job description and despite her lack of sleep, it gave her ample time to prepare coffee for both her and Brick. 

Sometimes, sacrifices were made towards brighter futures. She would manage somehow.

* * *

 

**_At Brick’s house….._ **

_ “Using small sections, part through the hair and add your rubber bands.” _

Brick held a pink rubber band in his teeth, angling the comb’s end for the perfect straight part.

_ “You want about six on each side of her head.” _

Humming a playful tune, Bonnie sat on her bed, legs swaying as her dad followed a youtube video to style her hair for the day. 

_ “Split the first section in half and wrap the second around this portion, then re-combine the portions of the first section and secure with a rubber band.” _

Today, she wore clothes chosen by her mom during their phone session. A dark pink cardigan over a white button-up shirt and black high waist skirt with loose pleats. The braids were also on mommy's recommendation to finish the look, rendering Brick in his current situation. When Bonnie asked him for help, he had not a clue but could not just tell his daughter no either, so naturally, he went to Google. 

Berserk had gotten Bonnie so excited to spend the weekend, that she chose to sport a cluster of pink today with her bedazzled Care Bears backpack, dark pink socks, and a multi-pink beaded bracelet. 

Where did his red loving baby girl run off to?

_ Sigh. _

_ “Now that you’ve added the last rubber band, spritz with a bit of hair spray for some shine.”  _

“Incoming, Bon,” Brick announced, allowing his daughter to cover her face before spritzing the product all about her hair. 

He fanned away the excess product in the air. “There you go Bon, all set for school.” 

“Yay!” was her exclamation, prancing off to her mirror. Brick couldn’t help but smile as twirled around, happily pleased with her looks. 

“Can you take a picture of me, dad?” she beamed. 

“Sure, you gonna send it to mom?” he asked. He picked up her phone, tapping on the camera icon.

“Yes!” she beamed again, posing for the picture.

“Say cheese.”

“Cheese!” 

“There you go, Bon,” said Brick, handing over the cell. 

"Thanks, dad!"

"Your welcome, now go wait downstairs. Your lunch box is in the kitchen," he advised.

“Ok!” Bonnie chirped, skipping out of the room. “Oh wait!” 

She returned inside, retrieving her Elmo doll from the bed. “Can’t forget this.”

Daughters were so precious.

…………..

**_At Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…_ **

_ “Good Morning, Miss Bubbles!”  _

_ “Good Morning, Imogen! Welcome back!” _

Bubbles stood at the doorway, continuously greeting children as their parents dropped them off. Partially tired, she rose the hot steaming cup of coffee to her lips, fighting off the exhaustion. Next time, she'd set an alarm, sleeping at 3 am wasn't exactly a good night's rest for a teacher. 

She did, however, accomplish her worksheet goals. Printed and sectioned out her advanced student's syllabus till the end of next week. 

Speaking of the child genius, a red Lamborghini pulled up at the entrance. 

Inhaling a breath, Bubbles put on a smile on sight of Brick and Bonnie walking down the entrance path.

“Good Morning, Bonnie! Brick,” Bubbles extended her greeting. 

"Miss Utonium," Brick formally acknowledged his daughter's teacher. The look in her eyes hinted at weary, yet she still maintained a bubbly demeanor.

“Good Morning, Miss Bubbles,” Bonnie greeted her teacher, who smiled at her. 

"Well, aren't you dressed up incredibly cute today! And your hair, it looks beautiful!" Bubbles complimented her, watching those small lips curl into a smile. 

“Thank you! My dad did them!” 

_ Wha-! _

Bubbles looked at Brick who turned his head away from her. 

She resisted a snicker, opting for a giggle instead. 

"Well, daddy did a great job!" Bubbles giggled. 

Smiling brighter, Bonnie looked up at her dad. “Will you come get me after school today, dad?”

“Sure, have a great day kiddo,” Brick said, stooping down to give Bonnie a hug. 

"Thanks, dad, you too!" Bonnie beamed, receiving a kiss on the cheek. She waved him goodbye before entering the classroom with a smile on her face. 

“You know I love wearing braids too,” Bubbles teased the retreating Brick, snickering when he turned around just to glare at her then walked off again. 

Teasable Brick over the scary one any day.

* * *

 

**_At work…._ **

Blossom stood in the company’s kitchen, preparing Brick a fruit parfait for breakfast. Their fridge was loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables and she was sure to ask for permission bounds before helping herself, turns out it was complimentary for staff. Even the cupboards were decently stocked, someone here engaged in regular on-job cooking or at least appreciated the site of a colorful fridge. This could save her money on lunch now. 

On Barbara's word of advice, Brick usually always consumed his breakfast on working grounds and when he did, it was always sweets. Then there were pictures of a little red-eyed girl on his office desk, if that was his daughter it would make sense to not enable the passing on of that particular bad habit. Brick also left work yesterday in time to pick her up if she attended Pokey Oaks Kindergarten as well. 

_ So he was the father among the Jojo’s….. _

Blossom pondered in thought.

_ I wonder what kind of dad Papa Brick would be like…. _

_ Hmm. _

She shook her head. This wasn't the time and frankly, his personal life was none of her business. 

Temporarily freeing her head of such thoughts, Blossom focused on her swiftness. She kept it simple with a layout of blueberries, sliced strawberries, some granola, plain yogurt sweetened with a fair amount of maple syrup. Once the coffee finished brewing, she added a tablespoon of condensed milk and a bit of cream then whipped cream at the top, marching off to Brick’s office before he arrived. 

The copy she received of his schedule was on the hectic side today. She doubted he would send her out for anything other than aspirin for potential headaches but then again, they were fully stocked on those. What a caring company. 

Neatly setting down his food items, Blossom ventured to her seat running through her expectations of the day in the email he forwarded.

She already informed the various human resources to schedule for appropriate fitting sessions through the company's e-chat before leaving work yesterday. A second reminder would be sent asap, just in case. Then Brick wanted her to represent him in two conjoined meetings that consumed the preponderance of the morning period and expected her to contribute realistic ideas and summarize the outcomes with notes for his later reviewal. The passing on of tasks to various clerical staff, following up on their work….several other minor tasks…...wait…

Brick assigned her to scope out the efficiency of Boomer's restaurant chain and produce a self-contained report of her findings? Those tasks required a lot of observation, negotiation, and adherence to company standards. Was he testing the efficiency of her leadership skills?  _ Hmm. _

_ Guess I’m playing Blue’s Clues today, huh. _

On that note, Blossom began her prepping of the topic at hand for the discussion. Brick waltzed in shortly afterward, exchanging polite greetings. His hand automatically went for the coffee, basking in its sweet creaminess. The parfait was an ok option, personally, he wasn't the biggest fan of plain yogurt but it'll do. 

He placed a spoonful in his mouth, assessing the breakfast’s quality.

“Add two tablespoons of maple syrup to this next time,” Brick informed Blossom, who rose a brow while skimming through the discussion board. 

“Ok Captain Diabetes,” she teased him, scribbling down some main points.

“I beg your pardon, Miss Utonium?” Brick queried, wondering if that was supposed to be funny.

“Nothing. I already made your coffee sweeter than most and the parfait has fruit, so I presumed it was sweet enough.”

“Did I ask for your opinion, Miss Utonium?” he persisted, not taking her smart remark lightly.

Blossom paid his tone no mind, favoring her scribbling. "Technically you didn't have to. According to my contract, the well being of my employer if, in a position where he succumbs or is succumbing to a path of illnesses or fatigue, I am to be of assistance to ensure his maximum efficiency. I like sweet things too but with the way you work, I'm just looking out for your health boss man."

_ Smart ass… _

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Brick spoke. “Just ready yourself for the meetings.”

“On it.” 

…………

Blossom sat at the large table of mostly men, her admission increasing the female count to three. She scribbled as they conveyed a variety of points concerning the introduction and adaptation of several elements in the incorporation. The current discussion at hand contemplated the advancement of artificial intelligence units into the human resource management system. It was the most talked about business trend of the year and Jojo Incorporated was more than interested in being the first company in Townsville to initiate a unique factor. The main discussion was lead by none other than Dexter, a well known male brainiac from Genius Grove, the sector head of the technological advancements firm. His achievements were inspiring for a mere twenty-three-year-old, a glorified ego broadcasting throughout his presentation.

“While this is all certainly fascinating, is it truly possible for a mere machine to comprehend emotion, behaving and thinking as would a human?” a representative from the HR company questioned such a logic. 

Dexter adjusted his glasses. “It is unlikely to assume a mere robot could replicate the complexities of a human, however its speed and efficiency could outperform even the most skilled worker in a matter of minutes.”

“But is such factor necessary in the field of human resources?” a member of the board of directors proposed.

"Their external bodies indefinitely resistant, acclimatized in such advanced technology immune to nullification, disfiguration or nor will breakdown in the event of a hostile working environment, unlike us humans who are prone to emotional disputes resulting in clouded judgment, mistakes, frustration and declined efficiency. Also, these systems could save the incorporation money in the long term. " Dexter explained his reasonings.

_ But at what stake? _

“Err…” Blossom mumbled to herself, wanting to speak up on the matter.

Blossom shifted in her seat, pausing her scribbling for just a second. Now on a day to day basis, she posed zero opposition against today's technologically advanced society. Nevertheless, the introduction of robots into the workforce especially a rational field like HR would not only remove empathy from complicated situations but also force many recruitment officers and certain employees into  _ unemployment _ . And for what? To spend a shitload of money purchasing and maintaining some stupid scrap of metal?

“While I agree that machinery operates faster and can be programmed to replicate emotion, what about cost? How much cash would a company this size need to spew for production of these robots?” asked another member of the board.

Dexter seemed excited about that question, bearing a positive smile. "By manufacturer standards, five to six-figure digits, however, I, a male genius and sector head is capable of creating such a system from the simplest of metals in my laboratory with an algorithm structured for flexibility of various tasks. Please do skim through the portfolio's I have provided."

_ This guy…. _

“Excuse me, Dexter?” Blossom finally spoke up, catching his attention and boy did she plan on sustaining it. 

“I’d have to disagree with your earlier disposition for varying reasons. On Behalf of Mr. Brick JoJo, it is my duty to observe perspectives from all angles. Would it not be efficient if these artificial intelligence systems provide a supporting role rather than seize the responsibilities of an employed staff member?” she said.

His reply was swift. “Machines process data faster than the average human and are better for multitasking. They can be programmed to adapt in any particular setting, to rectify your doubts,  I’ll present an example. Let’s use video games for instance. The artificial intelligence plans the game movement in response to our movements. The robots think logically and take the right program decisions. The robot could also be programmed to conjure or react to specific emotions, the difference in comparison to humans, is that the enigma of emotion clouding judgment is completely ruled out for artificial intelligence.”

“While I appreciate your knowledge on robotics Dexter, that doesn’t answer my question.”

“Oh?” he queried.

"I asked if these artificial intelligence systems can provide a role of assistance instead of adding to the uprise in national unemployment rates. What if instead of completing a complex role on its own that it compliments it. Let's say in areas such as the performance management system or recruitment and reward management, it can efficiently ease the workload in the form of an operational or educational unit rather than human mimicry, aiding especially in Finance where humans tend to make the most mistakes with numbers. The incorporation does not need to pour thousands of dollars into a do it all robot when its very staff and current operations systems have led to its existing success today. There's a reason why its a fairly new concept, it has a higher purpose in the field of manufacturing for taking over purposes. After all, who would want to negotiate business with a robot? That's poor tactician planning if you ask me," Blossom concluded, shifting in her seat upon realization of everyone staring at her. 

Dexter put a hand under his chin, perplexed at the idea. "This is an interesting superstition, I admire your concern for the economy. I could incorporate the artificial intelligence into our current operating systems for beta trials before serious investments. Then perhaps instead of robots, I can create a virtual artificially intelligent high-performance work system sole for the organization's benefit, however, this system still performs a regulated pay job and can save the organization money."

“Yes, perhaps a custom user interface for managers. Contractual assignments won’t short out from an uprise in technology. There will always be work for citizens in the economy.”

"That does appear to be the safer alternative," another spoke neutralizing the argument, followed by several others. A spur of confidence spiked in Blossom's system, resuming her note taking as the board of directors progressed the conversation among themselves to conclude the matter. She didn't win over their favor but managed to change their relevant perspectives from an all for one to a one for all.

Hopefully, Brick would be pleased with her involvement, not truly knowing his personal stance on artificial intelligence. She was willing to go the extra mile to sustain this job. He was a picky son of a primate and herself, a perfectionist at heart. 

She wouldn’t make a fool out of herself today. 

"Now onto the next topic at hand, societal demands, and our corporate social responsibilities."

_ Today will be great.  _

Lips curved in a tender expression of enthusiasm, Blossom spoke, contributing to the discussion.

* * *

 

**_10:00 am Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…_ **

_ “My name is Layla. I am a princess that lives in a castle.” _

The entire class sat silently listening to their fellow classmate Marie, read a story.

_ “I have two older sisters, May and Beth that are also princesses. _

_ “Our parents are the King and Queen of our kingdom.”  _

These reading and comprehension exercises were going on all morning long. Each and every student in alphabetical order had to stand at their table and read a given story for Miss Bubbles to asses their reading capabilities. 

Blinking away the sleepiness, the bubbly blonde continued with her planned schedule of the day, listening as the little girl continued to read. She had to moderately pre-discipline her students to respect one another, Bonnie and Tommy in particular by threatening their right to recess if they didn't pay attention. Those two, ironically her best academically advanced students, were still yet to make up with each other regardless of the apology exercise yesterday. What stubborn kids.

_ *Yawn.* _

Bubbles put a hand over her mouth, scribbling on her sheet of paper.

Her class was gifted readers, allowing for a quicker and smoother listening process. The comprehension exercise would follow after the break.

Thankfully, Marie was the last kid under the letter W. 

“Great job, Marie!” Bubbles praised the smiling child, addressing her class. “Since everyone did so good today, you all get an extra ten minutes of recess. Have fun!”

_ “Yaaaayyyyy!” _

The kids sprung out of their seats, some immediately rushing outside and others over to their lunchboxes. Smiling, Bubbles put her papers in her drawer, waiting until ever kid was outside before resting her eyes for a few.

**_Outside_ **

Snacks in hand, Bonnie followed Sara over to the shady oak tree in the schoolyard so Sara could introduce her to one of her friends. There, a caramel skinned girl with short, curly black hair and green eyes sat eating some chips. 

"Hey, Imogen!" Sara greeted the girl, sitting down on the bushy grass. 

“Hi Sara,” she replied, looking over at the redhead next to her friend. “You must be Bonnie.” 

Nodding, Bonnie gave a small wave. “Hi.” 

"This is Imogen, she has powers just like us!" Sarah beamed, opening a packet of Twizzlers. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. I can control the wind. See?” she said, generating a tiny whirlwind in the palm of her hand.

“Cool!” Bonnie squealed, herself getting excited at the idea of having super friends. 

“Yeah. What are your powers?” Imogen curiously asked her. Sara called last evening telling her all about the new redhead student when she was absent from school. 

“Well...I’m strong, I can fly and shoot lasers from my eyes,” Bonnie described her basic abilities. 

“Oh like, Superman?! That’s so cool!” Imogen chirped, a bright glimmer of light shining in her eyes. 

Bonnie blushed. “I wish I could be as cool as Superman.” 

“I met him before!” Sara spilled the beans.

“You did?!” squealed Imogen.

“Yeah! My uncle’s in the Justice League, he got me an autograph for my birthday!”

“Ooh, who’s your uncle Sara?” Bonnie asked.

“Geo-force! He can control the earth and gravity!” she bragged about her uncle. “He taught me how to use my powers.”

“That’s so awesome! I’m the only one in my family with powers, I got them from my Grandma.” 

"Your dad has powers too right?" Sara asked Bonnie to include her in the conversation again.

Imogen tossed some chips in her mouth. “Yeah, I heard he was a rowdyruff boy!”

“Yes, he does,” Bonnie politely spoke, opening her red covered bowl to reveal some juicy pieces of monkey bread. 

Her mouth watered.

_ Dad’s the best! _

She popped one in her mouth, savoring the sugary syrup. 

_ Mmmm! _

Her moan rose a brow of the two girls, who peered into her bowl. 

“Oh sweet, monkey bread.” 

“Would you like some? My dad made them!” Bonnie offered.

“Thanks!” they squealed, offering their snacks as well.

"Here have some Twizzlers!"

“And chips!”

Just like that, the three little girls munched on some yummy snacks, enjoying each other’s company. That was until Tommy arrived.

“Hey!”

Bonnie rolled her eyes, munching on a Twizzlers. She wanted nothing to do with this fool. 

Sara put her hands on her hips. “What do you want now, Tommy?!”

He dismissed the hissing blonde with a flick of his wrist, looking at Bonnie. “Look my bad about yesterday. I thought you were a spoiled rich kid but I was wrong.”

“Bet you’re just saying that cause she punched you in the face,” Imogen snickered. 

"Shut up!" Tommy scowled, sitting himself down with the trio of girls. He helped himself to one of Sara's Twizzlers. "Look I don't like apologizing but we're even, so I'm sorry for taking your phone, Bonnie."

Sara couldn’t believe her ears. “That’s insane, why should she even believe you?!”

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “It’s her call. I’m a jerk, so I like people who can stand up to me.”

_ This boy is kind of strange… _

The apology was sudden but his eyes told no lie. They matched his words.

Conflicted at his confession, Bonnie put a hand on her hip. “Do your parents even like you?” 

“Sometimes,” Tommy answered, reaching for one of Bonnie’s monkey bread but she slapped his hand away.

“Ask me first!” 

A sigh escaped his lips, swallowing his pride for a moment of politeness. "Can I please have a piece of your monkey bread?"

"Sure, I forgive you," Bonnie replied, now offering him some of her snacks. She didn't mind him being a jerk if he was an honest one. Some people were just more naturally abrasive than others, her uncle Butch and aunt Brute for instance.

“Thanks,” he said, biting into the sweet fluffy dough. This encounter went much easier than he anticipated.

Sara and Imogen shared a look, partially confused in the situation. Tommy had bully-like tendencies, did they really want to be friends with a kid like him?

“So does this mean you guys are friends now?” Sara skeptically queried.

“We’ll see,” Bonnie nonchalantly answered. 

Tommy laidback flatly on the grass, staring up at the sky. “Probably not.”

Imogen shrugged her shoulders. "So Tommy what do you like to do for fun?" she tried initiating a conversation with him, inserting a Twizzlers into her mouth. 

“What do you care?” he rudely shot back, offending Sara.

“Do you even have a friendly bone in your body?” Sara retaliated against his rude nature.

“Ask your mom.”

Imogen rolled her eyes, a sudden sly undertone in her speech. “So I like scrapbooking, what about you guys? 

Tommy defensively folded his arms. “ _ Tch! _ Boring!” 

Bonnie caught Imogen’s drift. “I think tea parties are the best! We get to play dress up and wear plenty of hairbows!” she beamed, watching Tommy visibly gag in response.

Sara smirked. "Well, I love dancing ballet! It's  _ soooooo _ much fun!” 

Tommy scoffed, tossing his arms out of their defensive fold. “ _ Laaaaame! _ ” 

Sara put a hand on her hip. "Oh yeah? Well, what's more fun than ballet?" 

“Martial arts, duh!” Tommy boasted, springing up from the ground and transitioned into a high kick, punching the air. 

_ HIYA!   _

_ HAH!  _

_ HYUH! _

He was pretty good at it too.

"So that's what you like, huh?" Bonnie burst into giggles, followed by Sara and Imogen. 

Tommy froze in place, expression grim.

“Wait…” he looked over at a grinning Imogen and Sara, pointing a finger of accusation. “You tricked me!” 

“Silly boy,” Imogen teased.

“You're way too easy to rile up,” an entertained Bonnie added.

“I can tell we're all gonna the bestest of friends now,” Sara concluded with a smug grin.

_ Grrr! _

His cheeks flustered pink.

"Forget you, stupid girls!" Tommy shouted, marching away from them with tightened fists.

“ _ Teeheheeheeee _ ,” the three girls giggled, enjoying the rest of their extended recess together.

* * *

 

**_11:20 am Mechanix_ **

Buttercup loomed over the engine of a Ford Mustang, assessing the problem of her client while he gave her the rundown of his vehicle troubles. The vehicle had no leaks, required no oil change, the engine looked mostly fine but to be sure, she inspected the various parts, using a ratchet to check on the spark plugs.

They were coated with bits of oil and partially corroded. 

"I inherited this vehicle after my father's passing some months ago but the ignition has been growing weaker. Sometimes it takes a few minutes in between to start and it's slow. I replaced the battery but its still happening. My friend recommended this place. Do you see anything off?" the man who she presumed was in his late 20's explained to her. 

Buttercup gently slid the tip against the gap opener until there was a bit of tension. “I see… when was the last time the spark plugs were changed? They look beat up.”

“The spark plugs?” he said. “Um...I didn’t pay them much mind when I got the vehicle.”

Buttercup nodded, re-inserting the plug she removed. “Start the ignition, let me see something.” 

It took a few attempts but when the engine finally turned over, there was a clutter of noises throughout its idling hymn. 

"It's the spark plugs alright. I can change them for you, though I recommend the Iridium kind for your vehicle's best performance, those range from $30- $80. Mechanix has their own line of Iridium plugs for $45 a piece, any purchase made from our line of products grants you a cheaper labor charge of $60. Your total would be $240." 

In comparison to average luxury standards, it saved him $13 overall. Still better than the extorting auto shops that charged up to $600 for this service.

He nodded. “That’s fine, I just want my vehicle running smoothly again. How long will it take?” 

"I can have it ready in twenty-five minutes."

“Oh? That’s fast,” he commented. “Then again, its expected for an organization of this caliber.” 

“ _ Mhmm _ . Go over to the waiting room, the receptionist will send you over when it’s ready,” she instructed him.

“Alright, thank you.” 

Temporarily shutting the hood, Buttercup ventured over to their parts supply store, the fancier section on the extensive bottom floor, retrieving the desired spark plugs from the sales clerk. The iridium kind had the thinnest electrode for the most powerful spark. The Morbucks constructed their own brand on the market and it was mandatory to recommend their line of products over the other varieties. Their luxury services attracted a diverse clientele that exploited the high-end brand culture in America. People loved treating themselves and their families to the best, even if they couldn't always afford it. 

At least the Morbucks showed some extent of appreciation to their customers. Any service replacement with a Morbucks brand of product resulted in a cheaper service charge depending on your vehicle. There was a complimentary customer loyalty discount card offered on the second visit for 15% off their service and also seasonal promotional events offering free car washes with the purchase of any Mechanix product. 

Buttercup had to give it to the Morbucks marketing team. They knew how to compliment their money-grubbing lifestyle in ways of growing their already large clientele.

A spark plug replacement was a simple series of steps, varying on the vehicle type took thirty minutes to an hour or more. This is where Buttercup's superhuman abilities granted benefits in her field of work. Yeah, she had to adhere to safety procedures but her invulnerability, strength, and speed saw for a swift process. It did, however, land her several after hour training regimens to master the skill under Prince's leadership.

He didn’t treat her any differently just because she was born superhumanly exceptional. If she did extra work in a day that was on her own accord unless it ran on overtime, her pay rate was the exact same as everyone else. Buttercup preferred things that way, the higher the pedestal the messier backlash and unrealistic expectations. 

She allowed not a single worker in this establishment to tackle her with the favoritism talk. She worked too damn hard for it. 

_ Now for this vehicle….  _

Buttercup adjusted the tool variety on her belt, stocking her necessities along with the new spark plugs. With a crack of her knuckles, she opened the hood, curling her finger into a mini circle. Inhaling a deep breath she blew through the circle, compressing her windy breath to blast away the dirt from the engine and ignition coils to prevent them from falling into the cylinders. 

Once cleared, Buttercup squeezed on the clips of the ignition coils, lifting it off then removed the hold down boot, pulling out the entire coil and blew some more air to remove dust that would’ve settled since the last plug installation. Reaching for the swivel spark plug socket and extension, she unscrewed the old spark plugs then added a simple magnet just to so the plugs popped out with minimal effort. 

She gapped the new spark plugs and coated them with anti-seize to minimize corrosion then placed them back in, screwing with the swivel socket then a torque wrench to tighten them. Before returning the hold down boots for the spark plugs, she lubed a thin coating of dielectric grease then re-installed the ignition coils.

And just like that Buttercup was finished, a minute under her track record too. Bearing a soft smile, she wrote the bill then paged the receptionist to send her customer over. The slightly obtuse male became overjoyed upon the roars of his engine, grinning from ear to ear. Maybe this time around he’ll pay more attention to maintaining the operating units of his vehicle rather than hopping in and joyriding. 

He even tipped her $20. What a guy. 

Friendly smiling, she returned his wave goodbye.

Looking down at Buttercup from the glass of the fourth floor in his regular office attire of black and white, Prince smiled to himself, temporarily ignoring the rambles of his personal assistant. 

Turning around, Buttercup set her hands on her hips, looking up at the large clock on the wall. Only five minutes to lunch, she might as well get in an early one today. The afternoon always prompted more work than the mornings, besides she had absolutely nothing to do now. The manager took over his duties, her co-workers some more than others were occupied with simple tasks. 

_ Might as well check on Elmer…. _

She departed to the female locker room, observing her surrounding areas along the way. Temporarily trading coveralls for a plain tee and jeans, Buttercup made her way to second-floor sale department where the glasses wearing, platinum blonde sat at his desk typing away on the keyboard.

“Hey E, you busy? Wanna grab lunch today?”

“Sorry Buttercup, I’m trapped in generating transactions for the rest of the day. Prince wants all outstanding orders and payments from the last quarter to be closed off before Friday, there’s also several to recent ones be dealt with before then,” Elmer S’glue tirelessly responded. 

Ironically, the once wimpy, glue eating kid from Kindergarten ended up becoming one of her best friends on the job site. The progression into adulthood whipped him into a confident male figure. One that spoke with authority and looked you dead in the eyes during conversation. 

“Yikes, how many we talking here?” Buttercup inquired.

A sigh escaped his lips. "Fifty-two."

She visibly winced. “Damn.”

"Right? On the bright side sales on Mechanix, products have increased 25% this quarter compared to the last. The new social media marketing tactics seem to be working," he mentioned with zeal to his tone.

“Oh?” Buttercup commented. “On what items? I’ve been busting my ass encouraging people to buy those overpriced shits. I brought in some spark plug sales today. Those shitty influencers got nothing on me.”

Elmer shared a soft chuckle. "That's good. Our ceramic coating and tire sprays did great over the heavy winter course. I guess people were more concerned back then about securing their paint jobs and flashy tires. The influencers we had sent products to, made promotional videos for application and wear test. One, in particular, had a rather uh….." Elmer paused to find the right words. " _ Creative _ video, having her current significant other and her uh...  _ side piece _ , coat her sister’s vehicle and broke up with them afterward. It got over 250,000 views. Head of marketing is debating sending her products from our other lines.” 

Buttercup rolled her eyes into infinity and beyond. “ As long as it puts more money in our pockets. I’m gonna grab me a burger, want one?”

“Turkey patty please!”

“Hold the mayo?”

“Yes, thank you!” Elmer beamed. The guy loved mayo on everything  _ but _ his burgers, what strange taste buds he had.

Shaking her head, Buttercup headed for the staircase, halting in her tracks upon running into none other than her boss Prince who just exited the elevator with his personal assistant Rebecca in tow. 

Her cheeks flustered when he flashed her a friendly grin. 

“Ah Buttercup, how are you today?” Prince positively greeted her. He seemed in good spirits today.

“I’m great and you, sir?”

"Good, good," he said, blinking as he took in her attire. " Off to an early lunch?"

“ _ Y- _ Yeah,” she slightly stammered. “ I’m free so I thought to grab a bite before rush hours begin.”

“ _ Hmm. _ What's on your menu?" Prince queried, interested in the positive company for the lunch hour.

She bore a soft smile. “Can’t get any better than burgers, sir.”

“Is that so?” he chuckled. “ Mind if I join you then?”

That caught her off guard, brain unsure what signals to send to her vocal cords.. " _ W- _ Wha-- really? I-I mean sure!” 

_ Way to go Buttercup…. _

Still, Prince continued to smile at her only interrupted by the clearing of Rebecca's throat. 

“Your word with the marketing and sales department sir?” she reminded him. 

"Right," he replied to her but faced Buttercup again. "Walk with me," he semi-instructed, waltzing off with Rebecca in tow. Shrugging her shoulders, the green puff followed behind him, he was the boss after all. 

Rebecca, his modelesque right hand blabbed her mouth the entire walk to marketing, asking Buttercup to stand at the door while Prince engaged the crew inside. From what she cared to pay attention to, it was more details on the return on marketing investments. Elmer and her friend Cassidy voices were also heard in the conversation.

_ Blah. _ She folded her arms, eyes closed against the fringe of the door. This shouldn’t take long.

_ 10 minutes later….. _

_ *Gurgle* *Gurgle* _

Buttercup glanced at her watch. It was now quarter past twelve and her stomach was begging to be fed.

_ Damnit Prince, hurry up! _

The vibrations of her boss’ voice ran through her ear tunnels. How was this man was still talking?

“He’s one of our regulars so give him an additional discount.”

“The car was garaged for an oil change recently but the radiator was faulty so the mechanics fixed it, just charge the excess through his credit card.”

“Ok, sir.”

Oh, she remembered that vehicle. It’s supposed to leave the garage tomorrow.                   

“Great. Keep me updated,” said Prince’s voice.

Buttercup opened her eyes at that, stepping away from the doorframe so Prince and Rebecca could pass, following behind them into the elevator as they continued to chat….all the way outside of the building. Gosh, she hadn’t felt this much of a third wheeler since her high school days.

“Honestly too many people get sick in that family,” Prince complained, fishing he ringing cell phone out of his pocket. “Do remind HR not to hire anyone with kids.”

_ Harsh…  _

“Hello, sorry I’m in a meeting. I’ll call you back.  _ Mhmm. _ Ok thanks,” he lied and hung up the phone, sneaking Buttercup a smirk. 

She kept a neutral expression, after all, it wasn't any of her business. His kind were busy people, she would've probably done the same in his shoes too. Her simple reaction was interpreted none too lightly with a grain of salt, lips tugged further at its corners as if in contemplation of her thoughts.

Rebecca had then excused herself from the two, opting for the carpark for her own lunch ventures. 

A long white limousine rolled in front of them. The butler stepped outside, holding the door open for them.

"So Buttercup," Prince started to say, taking in Buttercup's warily-mild facial expression."Where shall we dine this afternoon?"

* * *

_ “And that concludes our session of the day. Thank you all for your cooperation.”  _

Chairs squeaked on the floors as each meeting attending stood from their seats. Blossom hung around a few seconds in between, just letting the board of directors leave first before making her leave. The time was now ten to one in the afternoon and her schedule forecasted restaurant reporting at Boomer’s restaurant chain in half an hour, leaving very little time to complete her other minor tasks of the day. 

According to her schedule, that meeting should not have run longer than 11:45 but the discussion only barely died down by then. 

_ Some things can’t be helped I guess…. _

A gentle but mobile breath of fatigue fled her lips.

_ Whatever….I’ll just grab an apple from the kitchen fridge. _

Departing for the kitchen area, a masculine voice called out to her.

“Uh.. _ E _ -Excuse me!”

She turned to see the managerial head of technological advancements, Dexter. 

He adjusted his glasses. “Blossom was it?”

“Yes, did you need something?” she politely asked him. 

“In fact, I wanted to formally introduce myself to Brick’s new assistant. I certainly hope you last,” he spoke, extending a hand for shaking. Blossom’s eyes wanted to narrow, unsure of the purport behind his words but maintained her professionalism.

She shook his hand. “Thank you, Dexter.”

"S-So….," he gulped. "You must be busy I'll be off now, see you around," he bid her a swift goodbye and abruptly left. 

_ Hmph.  _

Not thinking much of it, Blossom continued on her journey to the staff kitchen, fetching her apple. The few employees in there didn’t pay her much mind, ignored her despite her formal greetings. Perhaps this was the norm for this job position? How sad, they were underestimating her.

She left, speedily returning to Brick’s office and shut the door. He looked by no means busy, casually eating lunch while staring at his phone. Perhaps he was watching something?

“Good Afternoon, Brick,” she greeted him, walking over to her desk. 

“How was the meeting?” he asked, not once removing his gaze from that cell. 

Setting the apple on a napkin, Blossom opened her assigned laptop and began the transferring of her notes.

“It was informative. To summarize, technological advancements will beta test artificial intelligence in our operational units for official use in the next three months expected to increase business efficiency there is a possibility of this creating turnover so gig work may be increased as a result,” she spoke, fingers click-clacking on the keyboard. 

"Our social responsibilities are fine as is but there is room for growth with the concern for mental wellness the b.o.d suggested a program encouraging employee interaction, work-life balance and access to the American psychiatric association for education and resources. Lastly, our current retirement policies for pension and beneficiary are being revised in light of Japan's 100-year life plan to better accommodate for the senior employees," Blossom finished, sending her document to print.

“Ok Resoomer.” Brick snickered, taking a bite from what smelled like a turkey sandwich. 

Blossom shook her head. So he could jokingly compare her to summarizing software but when she teased him, the feathers of his ego got all ruffled.

_ Typical Brick. _

Retrieving her document, she neatly placed it on his desk then got started on the task distribution and lunch. Sounds of crunches echoed in the office, her hasty sinking of teeth into the juicy apple accompanied by the clacks of the keyboard was enough encouragement for Brick to conclude spearing her a glance of mild concern. That apple was already near its core.

“Is fruit for lunch a regular thing of yours, Miss Utonium?”

_ Huh? _ She squeaked at his sudden inquiry, pink eyes meeting his piercing red gaze. 

“Oh  _ u- _ umm.” she stammered. “No  _ n- _ not really, it’s just a faster grab at lunch hour.”

Brick held her gaze for a few seconds longer, giving a gesture of disapproval. “Go fix yourself a sandwich. I won’t tolerate a malnourished assistant.”

Her jaw fell loose, dumbfounded by his instruction but there was still so much to be done.

“ _ T- _ That’s ok Brick, I--”

“ _ Now _ , Miss Utonium,” he commanded with a glare, watching as the puff bit her lip but stood from her chair and exited the room. Why starve yourself when a free, fully stocked kitchen was at your disposal? She was already handling his schedule for the day a lot better than he anticipated, granting Brick much time to just kick back and watch soccer.

Shaking his head, Brick contacted Boomer from the work phone.

“Hey Bro, wassup?” Boomer casually answered his cell.

“Have Blossom accompany you to the restaurant today at two. She’s handling a report for me.”

The causality fled his voice. “Alright.” 

Boomer ended the call.

Brick shook his head, an amused chuckle escaping his lips. _ Better her than me... _

…………

_ *Knock.* *Knock.* _

"Boomer?" Blossom called his name, standing at his office door. It was now 2 pm and she managed to finish off her other duties just in time to proceed with her final and longest task of the day. That in mind, she stowed a quaker oats bar from the kitchen cabinet in her pocket and carried a bottle of water in hand with her notepad.

“Come in.” 

She opened the door, stepping into the office. On first glance, it was noticeably much brighter than Brick's. The walls shared the same cream color, vast pictures of artistry decorating his walls. The tiles were a welcoming sky blue, windows were open allowing a burst of shine complimented by a soft canary yellow curtain decorating its rails. 

_ Wow.  _

Even the furniture brought life to the room, a multi-colored sofa and a custom resin tabletop designed to mimic an underwater park. 

“You ready to go, Blossom?” Boomer asked, startling Blossom. She was so engrossed with his office that she almost forgot he was still there. 

The blue rowdyruff casually sat at his desk with a layout of pictures, pencil drifting about on the sketch pad in his hand. Drawing often eased his mind of the difficulties at work, regardless of what his primate father thought.

“ _ Y- _ Yes,” she stuttered, eyes unintentionally wandering off to his paintings again. They were so beautiful. 

“Do you like the paintings? I did them myself,” Boomer plainly spoke, eyes never leaving his sketch pad. He wasn’t in the mood to be judged right now but alas, all good things must come to an end. Brick sent the second best fault-finding person in Townsville to report on his failing restaurant chain.  _ Yippie. _

“Wow. They’re really good,” Blossom commented, stepping closer for a thorough look. 

“Thank you,” he replied, setting down his pad. “But we should get going now.”

_ Why did he sound so monotone? _

“Right.” Blossom turned around, watching Boomer throw on his jacket. They left the office together, walking past the general secretary and into the elevator. The atmosphere between them was predominantly quiet, neither persons peeped to initiate conversation so it stayed that way. They exited the building in favor of Boomer’s vehicle, a navy blue Toyota Prius then left the compound. 

During the cool drive, Blossom silently looked out the window, not wanting to casually scroll through her phone in the presence of a higher-up. First impressions wise, Boomer seemed relatively less flashy than his brothers both of whom sport  _ expensive _ luxurious vehicles.  

On the topic of luxury…

Brick had given specific instructions on what he wanted her report to consist of. Apparently, that luxurious restaurant to the far east of Townsville, Tour De Lave, was experiencing some unprofitable circumstances. She vividly remembered her first dining experience there. 

The professor, together with Robin’s parents had treated the four of them to a fancy feast before departing off to college. It was a stunning, French-Japanese establishment and the food was worth every cent. 

How could a restaurant like that shipwreck so badly?

Food Bloggers.

Those people on the internet with Ph.D.'s in Google Search, that spent countless hard earned dollars in reviewing dining experiences. In our age digital media, these bloggers were granted enough power to make or destroy a business venture with little to no afterthought. In return, long were the days of "The customer is always right." Some people were pickier than others to the point of isolation so business and organizations settled on a new term, "The customer is not always right, but must always be satisfied."

Or in other words, damage control.

Public relation was a risky job. 

“So Boomer,” Blossom said to initiate a conversation. “Can I have your perspective on the events at the restaurant?” 

“What would you like to know?” he countered the question, focusing the road.

“Well….,” Blossom trailed off, expecting a friendlier start to the conversation. “How about the management? Would you say that she’s passionate about the restaurant?” 

“She is,” he plainly stated. “Things happen though.”

_ That’s not very helpful…. _

“Umm...so how would you describe her managerial skills? Has she initiated new and innovative ideas?” Blossom tried asking again, unscrewing the cap of her water.

“Yeah, she’s a good employee,” Boomer plainly followed up, eyes still locked on the road. 

_ Maybe he’s focusing on driving? _

Good thing they were approaching a traffic light.

Blossom bit her lip, contemplating the proper way to address him without  _ “sounding bossy.” _ "Um...Boomer...dont get me wrong but--"

“What?” he blatantly cut her off, his fingers unneededly gripping the steering wheel.

Blossom took a sip of her water to ease her nerves. The Boomer she knew all her life was never this caustic. 

“I can’t build a rational perspective on the situation at hand if its very own sector head won’t spare me any intel of core problems,” she explained herself, hoping to tone down his aggressive demeanor.

His jaw hardened, tensed shoulders flexing with indifference. “Then maybe you aren’t so smart after all.”

Blossom’s tongue poked at her cheek as if encouraging herself to take charge of the situation. 

_ What the hell is his problem?! _

“Look I don’t understand why--”

"Do you really?!" he snapped at her, eyeing Blossom as though his jackass meter had frothed at broil point. " I'm sure Brick briefed already and yet you're still asking me questions. Clearly, you won't last long." 

Blossom’s fingers applied pressure to the bottle of water, crinkling the plastic enough to spill liquid on her clothes. 

_ Don’t you...don’t you dare talk down on me! _

In the words of Buttercup, this was some Grade A bullshit. Why was Boomer acting this way? What happened to the easy-going blue rowdyruff? Yeah, he was one of the higher ups but she did nothing to deserve this childish hissy fit. 

Nevertheless, she exerted caution with her words. “Boomer, are you ok?! This isn’t like you!” she rose her voice at him.

“I will be when you shut up.”

**_*Splash!*_ **

Boomer blinked, his eyes wide with disbelief. One minute he was talking to Blossom and before he knew it, water was trickling down from his hair and face, dripping on his shirt. She had thrown a bottle of water on him. 

He matched her gaze in a ruthless narrow, challenging her audacity to do something like this.

“I won’t allow you to berate me, Boomer!” Blossom shouted at him, pink eyes wild and furious. She threw off her seatbelt, shoving open the door mid road like a crazy woman. The light had already changed to green, was she trying to get run over?

“I don’t know what your problem is but do you think you’re the only one who’s going through a difficult time?!” she spat at him, stepping out onto the busy street.

_ What am I doing?... _

“ _ Y- _ You are so  _ lucky _ ….” Blossom lowly spoke, momentarily breaking eye contact in favor of the street, chest heaving up and down in a vicious pant.  

Boomer arched a brow, foot comfortably resting on the brakes despite the bellowing horns of irritated drivers behind him. What the hell was she on?

“You have _money_ ….you have _people_ that believe in you, people that _want_ to go the extra mile _to_ _see you win_....all you have to do is put in the _work_ …..” Blossom seethed, a tightened fist at her side. “And yet you... _y-_ you resort to THIS?!”

She made eye contact again, tears welled up in those fierce pink eyes of hers. 

_ Brick’s gonna fire me... _

“STOP WHINING AND GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, ASSHOLE!” she screeched, slamming his door with  _ much _ unnecessary force.

_ So much for keeping this job… _

_ There were other options online anyway…. _

Blossom shot off into the sky, taking her own independent means to the restaurant. Screw Boomer, she could get to the bottom of things without his intervention either way. Her current position had to grant some sort of power over the employees there...unless they preferred answering the personification of the angry red devil himself. 

Chances were not in favor of the latter. 

Sniffling, Blossom puckered up and readied her mind for analysis. There was still a report to be done.

* * *

**_2:30 pm Pokey Oaks Kindergarten_ **

"See you all tomorrow, kids!" Bubbles cheerfully dismissed her students from a long day of school. She watched as the children made their way outside, some running off to their parents and others playing in the kiddie park.

What a great day. Tiredness aside, she completed all of her curriculum expectations for the board and still managed to keep her class geniuses genuinely occupied in their school work. 

Bonnie, her new addition to her classroom seemed to have made a friend in Sara, her little ball of positive energy, Imogen her cool little cucumber and….Tommy? 

Bubbles hands settled on her hip bone, brow arched at the quad of students. Bonnie and Tommy had been silently feuding throughout the early morning period. Yet somehow, the three girls sat in a circle around the irritated looking boy whose arms were folded, shoulders hunched over in what seemed to be his version of bashfulness. 

Now that Bubbles thought about it...Tommy was awfully quiet in class today after the recess period. She figured it had to do with his partner in crime Frank, being absent though that never usually impacted on his abrasive ways. 

_ Speaking of abrasive…..  _

Bubbles cleared her throat at the arrival of Townsville most commonly referenced corporate lawyer, none other than Tommy's mother, Lauren Kelly. The fairly tall, long-haired blonde woman in her brightly colored formal work attire. For a person in her field of work, she sure loved to sport the colors of the rainbow. 

“Hello, Utonium!” the woman who refused to use her  _ “childish” _ first name, greeted Bubbles. 

"Good Afternoon, Mrs. Kelly. How are you today?" she politely greeted the mother of her student.

“Good, good! And yourself….you look a bit…” she paused for dramatic intent. “Off,” she ended with a smile. 

_ It could've been anyone but this woman….. _

_ Heaven give me strength.  _

Bubbles put on her most parent-friendly voice. "While I admire your concern Mrs. Kelly, I can assure that I'm fine." 

"Of course you are, dear," she said, quick to change the topic. "I do hope there were no more incidents at your indefinitely monitored schoolyard today. Where is Thomas?" she spoke, looking around for her last born son. 

Protesting the urge to roll her eyes, Bubbles called for the boy. “Tommy! Your mom is here!” 

Now dropping his arms, Tommy stood with a sigh walking out from the circle of girls.

“Byeeee Tommyyyy,” the trio of girls teasingly bid him goodbye, giggling right afterward. 

He clenched his small fists, grumbling all the way over to his mother with flushed cheeks. “Stupid girls…” 

Bubbles folded her arms, perplexed at the discovery. "Well, that's new."  

Lauren, on the contrary, seemed rather ecstatic, clasping her hands together in a joyous manner. "Oh? My little Thomas has become a ladies man. How cute!" she beamed, placing a kiss on her son's cheek. 

Bubbles couldn't help but release a giggle of her own when Tommy wiped it away with a disgusted expression. 

“We'll be off now! Thomas say goodbye to your teacher.” 

He let out a slight, exasperated sigh. “Goodbye, Miss Bubbles.” 

“Goodbye, Tommy. See you tomorrow!” 

The mother-son duo walked off and Brick strolled up the walking path, immediately spotting Bonnie's Care Bears backpack. 

“Hey Bon Bon!” he called for his daughter.

Bonnie turned around, brightly smiling on sight of her dad. 

“Hi Dad!” she beamed, rushing over to be held in his arms. 

Bubbles released a coy giggle. Bonnie was such a daddy's girl. 

Brick kissed his daughter’s cheek. “How was your day, kiddo?” 

Bonnie beamed a joyful smile on her face. "It was great! I made another friend, do you want to meet them?" 

“Sure, lead the way,” Brick said, setting Bonnie down on her feet. She happily took his hand, leading him over to the two little girls sitting on the grass. 

“Dad this Sara and Imogen, my new best friends!” Bonnie introduced him.

"Hi Mr. Bonnie's dad!" they cutely greeted him.

“Hello, nice to meet you two,” Brick returned the greeting in a polite manner.

“It’s nice meeting you too!” the Sara girl returned the saying. The one called Imogen pulled out a piece of colored paper and pen from her bag pack. 

“Can I please have your autograph? It's for my scrapbook.” 

“Sure. You like scrapbooking hun?” Brick asked, signing her paper.

“Yup! It's a lot of fun,” she replied, thanking him for the autograph.

“You collect a scrapbook of signatures?” Bonnie questioned. 

“I have one for,” Imogen lowered her voice, a hand barring the right side of her mouth. “Super people like us!” 

“Oh,” Bonnie commented in awe. 

Brick's forehead scrunched, curious as to why a little felt the need to hide such a thing. "Is this scrapbook a secret?" he asked her.

Imogen nodded, a transparent smile settling on her face. “My mom doesn’t like me using my powers. She says it’s dangerous, so I hide them.” 

"My mom too, though she says it's for emergencies only. Miss Bubbles found out about mine yesterday," Sara added to the topic, placing a comforting hand on Imogen's back.

Bonnie felt a bit guilty at that confession. “Because of me wasn't it? I'm sorry Sara.” 

“Its ok Bonnie. It's how I found out you're just like me!” she radiated some positive energy. 

Sara turned to Imogen. “Are you gonna tell Miss Bubbles about your powers, Imogen?” 

She slightly frowned but quickly cheered herself up with a soft smile. “I guess I should...on the bright side, I can finally get her autograph!” 

“That’s the spirit! Good luck, kid,” Brick offered some encouragement.

“Thank you!” Imogen said, picking herself up from the ground. She hugged Bonnie a goodbye then took a deep breath and walked off to where Miss Bubbles was. 

Brick stole a glance at his watch. "Ok, Bonnie and I should get going now, take care, Sara."

“Ok, see you tomorrow Bonnie,” said Sara to her, exchanging hugs.  

Brick allowed Bonnie to say goodbye to her teacher, bidding Bubbles a simple wave of gratitude before departing the school’s ground with his daughter.

………..

On the way home Brick continuously interacted with Bonnie, allowing her to share all that she wanted to express. He desired not to have his flaws passed onto her, steering her away from developing brooding or hurtful tendencies. A trait both him and Berserk possessed, toxic ones albeit.

Who would she grow to be more of?

There were times when Brick questioned his own parenting methods, wondering if he was any good of a role model to look up to yet she was still better off than most kids from two-parent households. At five years old, Bonnie cleaned up after herself, exerted patience, loved to learn and picked up quickly, was always alert, very well spoken and ideally was not a troublemaker. 

She liked a mixture of cute and stereotypically masculine things, introverted but not socially awkward,  _ definitely _ possessed an ego. Pride did run deeply in their bloodline yet still, Bonnie was her own little person that deeply loved her family despite its faulty functioning. What more could he ask for? 

"Oh Dad, look!" Bonnie exclaimed, rushing out of the car in favor of the neighbor's pet. "Mr. Whiskers came over to greet us today!" 

She squatted down to its level. "Hi, Mr. Whiskers!"

_ *Meow.*   _

"Bonnie don't touch the cat," Brick instructed, startling Bonnie who quickly retracted her hand. 

_ *Meow.* _

“Aww but he’s so fluffy dad,” she replied, now standing up. 

“You can pet him after the neighbors give him a bath,” he told her, holding open the door.

“I wonder when that will be,” Bonnie commented as she walked inside, removing her mary janes.

“Hopefully soon, he’s starting to stink up the place,” Brick pointed out.

"Aw, he can't help it, dad. Cats hate water."

“That explains why I’m a dog person then,” Brick joked, shooting a wink at a giggling Bonnie. 

“Can we get a dog, dad?” she seized the opportunity to ask.

He nodded. “Only if you promise to scoop up the poop.”

“Forget I asked then,” Bonnie swiftly retaliated, cracking Brick up.

* * *

**_6:50 pm_ **

Buttercup sat at her dresser, following an online makeup tutorial. She didn't do much to her face, glossing over the foundation and concealer portion, opting for light powder and bronzer instead. She filled in her brows, applied eyeliner, added blush, some highlighter and popped her lips with a vibrant red lipstick. Oh and setting spray, couldn't forget that or that powder would transfer like crazy.

She stared at the mirror, running a hand through her neck length flat ironed hair that was currently parted to the side. 

"This will do," Buttercup commented to herself. She clipped on the diamond stud earrings reserved for special occasions, some green multi-colored bracelets, and an emerald gemstone encrusted watch. Her attire was nothing glamorous. A sleek black dress with a fractionally exposed back area. The accessories added umph to the look, a tip she picked up on from watching Bubbles dress up. Had her blonde sister not been bound by a spell of eternal slumber, surely it would have spared Buttercup the effort.

Slipping into the outfit, Buttercup zipped herself up and threw on her black and silver ankle strapped heels. Spritzing some perfume, she grabbed the miniature clutch purse on her bed, flying downstairs. 

Butch was already waiting for her on the couch. His spiky black hair moderately gelled a little more than usual for the occasion, its reflection of light indicating as such. 

“All set, sorry for the wait,” the sound of her voice got his attention.

Flashing that old signature grin of his, Butch spoke. “Looking good, Butters!”

Her cheeks tinted pink, tucking in a flyaway strand of hair. “N-Not so bad yourself.”

“Why thank you,” he boasted the compliment, flexing his jacket collar for emphasis.

Buttercup rolled her eyes. Oh, he was the same overly proud Butch alright.

  
“Let’s go I’m starving,” she confessed, leading him outside the puff household and locked the door. The shiny black coat of his Jaguar much complimented the hue of the sunset, tickling at Buttercup’s excitement. Powers or not, the thought of parading around town with a fast, luxurious vehicle in her eyes was a phenomenal life goal.

“What you in the mood for?” inquired Butch, opening her door in a small display of chivalry. 

“Hmm.” she thought, comfortably sitting down and strapping the seatbelt. 

Butch plopped himself inside shortly afterward, starting the ignition. 

Buttercup looked at him. “I’m down for anything, you?”

“I’m in the mood for spaghetti, so Italian?” Butch suggested.

She gave an approving head gesture. “Cool.”

“You sure?” he pressed the topic.

“Yup.”

In that little moment of silence, Butch began to snicker, the memories of the glorious teenage days resurfacing in his head. “You know most girls usually don’t decide this easily on food.”

Buttercup leaned back in her seat. “When have I ever been like most girls?” she snorted. 

"Pfft," he continued to snicker. "Oh, I know."

Her eyes narrowed a tad bit, appearing intimidating but not at the same time. “The hell’s so funny?” she sneered this time.

“Just remembering the good old days,” Butch answered quite too smug for her liking.

"What am I, a mind reader?" she complained about the details.

Butch rolled his eyes, a smirk sketching across that handsome face of his. “Remember that time we had a fishing competition on that hike?” 

“Hmmm,” Buttercup thought, recalling the day.

**_-Flashback-_ **

_ Woo-hoo!  _

_ The students cheered on site of a glorious lake. The shimmers of the sun shone upon the glassy vibrations of the clear water, the circular stones complimenting the underwater surface. Right now, the students were more than thankful to have survived the brutal ten-hour phys ed hike for such a luxury.  _

_ Some students of their class peeled the clothes off their backs, eager to hop in for a swim while others fled to the coolers for a refreshing drink.  _

_ "HOLD IT!" a guidance counselor yelled before anyone could touch the water. "I'd like to advise you all to catch your food before scaring them off." _

_ “What?!” they all complained.  _

_ "This is a hiking exercise, not an in woods vacation," he reminded the grumbling teenagers. " Everyone set up a tent and grab a rod, then meet coach in the water. You'll be in teams of boys and girls."  _

_ The class of teens groaned, some up for the challenge while others were more or less at bay. The Powerpuff's included.  _

_ "Why can't they give us a break!" Bubbles whined, slipping back on her tank top. "I don't even eat fish!" The blue puff flattened out her tank top, lips curved in an upset pout. She specifically wore a swimsuit underneath and packed bikinis only for underwear knowing they would be among open waters on the trail. Cute swimsuits were not meant for fishing, sweating, and endless trail roads. What kind of Tarzan experience was this? _

_ Buttercup huffed, tossing her arms into a fold. "What did you expect? An all expense paid food court on the trail?" she sneered. _

_ Bubbles turned her nose up, unperturbed by her sisters sarcasm. “That would’ve been nice, thank you very much!” _

_ “Well…” Blossom started, fairly neutral on the matter. “They say the food always tastes better when you catch it yourself.”  _

_ Her pout subpart, descending into a frown. "Those poor trout…they just want to--" _

_ "Bubbles, don't you start!" Buttercup blurted, interrupting Bubbles before she could rant on about animal rights. The last thing she wanted to hear was how much a fish valued their life and families and blah blah blah when the thought of a crispy piece of fried fish for lunch made her mouth water in anticipation. The two puffs picked up a rod, Bubbles standing nearby indecisive on her participation.  _

_ Having overheard the puff dilemma, Butch motioned to his brothers. _

_ “Hey guys, why don’t we show those sissies how a real hunter earns his food?” he spoke loudly enough to get the attention of all three girls, especially the glaring Buttercup. _

_ Boomer cracked open a can of grape soda. “Sweet!” he commented, throwing back the sugary liquid in a chug. _

_ Brick sported a coy smirk. "I'm game," he answered, walking over to grab a rod. They could set up the tent in a minute anyway. "Where's the bait?" he asked the counselor, who shortly afterward handed him a small white container. _

_ Blossom set a hand on her hip, the other containing the container of worms. "It's not a competition, we're supposed to be learning about the essence of survival." _

_ Brick adjusted the fitting of his hat, opting to lock eyes with his pink counterpart. “Did I say you could talk to me, Utonium?” that condescending tone of his rung in her ear bells. _

_ “Yeah!” Butch backed up his elder brother in buffoonery. “What’s the matter Pinkie, scared you’ll fail?” he taunted her. _

_ Blossom clenched her fist. Brick was such an asshole, the dangerous, influential kind. The type to render her level-headedness to immature bursts of dialogue. Oh, how she loved to hate him, depending on the hour of the day. _

_ Buttercup marched forward, issuing a defensive stand in front of her sisters. “You assholes are always looking for some trouble.” _

_ Butch put a hand to his ear, mocking her. “What was that Butt-cup? I couldn’t hear over your feminine whining.” _

_ “You son of a bi-!” _

_ "Forget them, girls!" Bubbles interjected before a fight took place. "I stocked up on canned food supplies remember? We don't have to rely on fish!" _

_ At that point, Boomer joined the ‘conversation'. "No offense Bubs, but no one wants that vegetarian shit," he told her all nonchalant as if it couldn't actually offend her. _

_ Baby blue eyes squint down into her estimation of a feral glare, no fiercer than of Sagwa the Siamese cat. "Really, Boomer?!" _

_ Boomer ran a hand through his short blonde hair, his cool demeanor effectively poking at her irritation levels. "It's the truth hun," he followed up with a simple lift of his shoulders.  _

_ “Don’t ‘hun’ my sister!” Buttercup spat, readying a fist to fight. _

_ Brick rolled his eyes. "As...entertaining as this conversation is, we ruffs got some fishing to do. You girls go sunbathe somewhere quiet, kay?" his arrogance spoke, walking off to the lake. _

_ Hehehehe. Butch snickered, grabbing his fishing rod and walked away, turning around for a quick second. _

_ "And try not to break a nail while you're at it, Bambi," he mocked Bubbles with a gesture of his fingers, the smirk on his face expanding so far, he resembled an offsetting caricature of a Cheshire cat. _

_ Opposed to the rude behaviors of his brothers, Boomer held up deuces to indicate departure. "Later," he bid them a temporary goodbye, taking a fishing rod and walked away. The other boys around them snickered in pursuit of the lake as if something was funny.  _

_ No one made a fool out of the Powerpuff girls!  _

_ Snarling, Buttercup scooped up some small pebbles from the ground, nimbly launching at each ruff.  _

**_Clack!_ **

_ The boys paused ceased motion. Something hit against the back of their heads. _

_ They turned around for the perpetrator with the audacity to wage war with the rowdyruff boys, none other than the green Powerpuff herself, Buttercup Utonium. _

_ “You damn bastards!” she screeched, not caring that all her classmates were now staring at her. “We’ll catch the biggest fish in the friggin lake and then we’ll see we who the best hunters really are!” _

_ “W-We will?” Bubbles timidly questioned, still not wanting to hurt the fish. _

_ “Oh? Bring it on then Butters, don’t let me catch ya pouting when you lose,” Butch laughed, walking off with his brothers who snuck her an evil eye.  _

_ "Same goes for you, you jerks!" Blossom shouted after them, turning to her sisters. "Come on girls, we have a fishing competition to win!' _

_ Bubbles sighed, thinking about all the fish that would be innocently caught when all they wanted to do was swim in their home.  _

_ The puffs grouped themselves with the rest of females in their class, gathering and adjusting their rods for action. Like the boys, they left the tent assembling for later. _

_ Blossom handed over the small container to Buttercup, who opened it to reveal long, dirt covered earthworms wiggling about.  _

_ “Ewwwwwwwww!” _

_ "Quit yer complaining and hook them already! We can't let the boys win!" she apprehended the girls' team, baiting her hook without second thoughts. Yeah, most worms were squeamishly slimy looking but these were completely harmless, what was the big deal?  _

_ "Buttercup's right!" said Blossom, who began instructing on how to properly bait a fishing hook. She had to keep pausing as some of the other girls complained or made gagging noises, apparently, this was the first time they ever touched or had seen a worm.   _

_ Once every girl had a baited hook, they went out into the water for the demonstration by the coach.  _

_ “Now children, you want to get some distance because you really want to extend that hook out there,” he said raising the rod over his head then released it with force. “Just like that!”  _

_ “Now you just wait patiently for a bite and when you get one, just reel him in, it’s simple. Good luck!”  _

_ **-End of Flashback-** _

Buttercup laughed, a cocky smile shaping her lips. “I remember now! So much for being manly men. You guys totally lost!” she boasted, now grinning.

“Hey!” Butch spat. “It takes a special type of crazy to strip and dive in for a fish. So congratulations, you want a medal?” the envy trickled through his sarcasm.

“You hating ass, you jumped in too!” Buttercup continued to laugh at him, recalling her teenage badassery.

“Only cause you girls were cheating!” Butch shot back, eyes focused on the road as he drove.

"We didn't cheat, it was a strategy!" she spat in retaliation, starting an argument between the two about how it all really went down, on the way to the restaurant.

**_-Flashback-_ **

_ The girls tirelessly stood in the water waiting for a good a catch. It was getting ridiculous now, approximately forty-five minutes in the boys had already caught some decent sized trout. In their section of buckets, however, were pre-teen trout, still small enough to be mistaken for babies.  _

_ Some girls had already left the water with claims of skin wrinkling but the group of boys was still going strong.  _

_ “Ugh, this sucks!” Buttercup complained, lifting up yet another small trout. _

_ “That's right! Reel em in, Logan!” the boys cheered on their comrade. _

_ “I can feel it! It's a big one!” Logan blurted, grinning as his catch fought against his rod. “We’re eating good tonight guys!” _

_ “Yeah!”  _

_ “Get him!”  _

_ Blossom frowned at the girls lack thereof progress. "The boys seem to be doing very well...I wonder if they got the better spot?"  _

_ I'm not mad at that, Bubbles thought. Not having caught any fish yet.  _

_ “Yeaaaahhhh--”  _

_ “What the hell?!” his voice ripped through the air.  _

_ “Pffft!” _

_ “Hahahahahahaha!” the guys cracked themselves up laughing while the platinum blonde complained. _

_ The girls' team looked over to see the baby trout hanging from Logan's line, bursting with laughter after all that indirect bragging he did earlier. A few classmates poked at the male for some fun. _

_ “Nice one!”  _

_ “Real manly catch, Logan!” _

_ “I can tell he was a fighter!”  _

_ “Hahahahahahaha!”  _

_ The sounds of their mocking laughter froze Logan up, too embarrassed to raise his head. He was not the most outgoing guy on the team but the kid had good outdoor skills. This irritated Butch, those girls didn't earn the right to make fun of him as the guys did. Growling, Butch stood up for his classmate.  _

_ “SHUT UPPP!” Butch roared, scaring off some birds in the distance. “What have you losers caught so far, huh?! Those weak toddler fish! What are you gonna do, feed the birds?! At least Logan here caught enough to feed five people, you SISSIES!”  _

_ “What crawled up your ass and died?! Buttercup retorted, also in defense of her teammates. “ It was only a freaking joke!” _

_ “That maggot fish, bitch!”  he shot back. _

_ Buttercup tossed her rod in the water, ready to fight. “The hell you calling a bitch?!”  _

_ “Language!” the coach shouted, blowing on that irritating whistle of his. “Less Bickering and more fishing! We're cooking in fifteen minutes!”  _

_ “Hear that Butters?! You sissies get another chance for redemption. Try not to be sore losers!”  _

_ “Fuc--”  _

_ “Language!”  _

_ Buttercup rolled her eyes, picking up her rod. Those stupid guys always thought they had the advantage just cause they’re guys, contrary to their misogynistic beliefs, girls could do it too and outsmart them at the same time.  _

_ Wait…. _

_ An idea hit her.  _

_ “Fine!” she yelled to Butch, keeping a neutral tone. “Let's make this interesting then. Whoever has the least amount of fish has to take everyone's cooking duty!”  _

_ Brick smirked. "Oh, I like the sound of that."  _

_ "I could do with some zzz's right about now," Boomer commented. Peaceful environments like this made him sleepy after a while. _

_ Butch cackled, amused by the wager. “Whatever you say! I like my fish on the crispy side okay Butters, so go generous on the flour!” he jeered the green puff, returning to his fishing with the guys. _

_ “Buttercup!” Blossom exclaimed, worried about that deal. “How are we supposed to win now?! They have tons of fish compared to us, we won't make it in time!”  _

_ She quickly nodded. “I know! But hear me out, I have an idea!”  _

_ Blossom set a hand on her hip. “This better be good.”  _

_ Buttercup turned to Bubbles. “Bubbles, I need you to call as much fish possible to the upper center of the lake.”  _

_ "What?!" she squeaked in surprise. _

_ “C’mon you want to win don't you?!” Buttercup tried to persuade her sister. _

_ “Yes, but--!”  _

_ “Please Bubbles!” Buttercup intercepted, needing the blonde’s ability for this plan of hers to work. “Do you really want to be stuck on cooking duty for those assholes?”  _

_ She gave in with a weary sigh. “....Fine.”  _

_ “Good! Now leave it up to me!” Buttercup said and ran out of the water. She put down her fishing rod and stripped down to her underwear and a vest, running back into the water.  _

_ “Oooou!” the boys howled like animals. _

_ “NICE BRIEFS BUTTERS!” Butch cackled. _

_ “SHUT UP!”  she roared, fighting off the temporary embarrassment. _

_ “Ready Bubbles?!” Buttercup prompted. _

_ “YEAH!” Bubbles replied and put her face in the water, mumbling gurgles.  _

_ “Buttercup what are you--” Blossom cut herself off when her sister dove into the water.  _

_ “What is she doing?!” a girl from their class, Mackenzie, asked the pink puff. _

_ Blossom secured her hook for safety reasons, unsure herself. “We're about to find out.”  _

_ Seconds later...Buttercup burst out of the water holding four large flipping fishes against her chest, rushing to the girls' bank buckets. _

_ “Oh! I get it now!” Blossom said, herself rushing over to her bags. _

_ “She caught fish!” a random girl shouted in excitement, getting the boys attention again. _

_ "Come on girls! Let's give her a hand!" Blossom said taking off her white shirt. She used it as a cover to remove her cargo pants then slipped on some shorts, dropping the clothing over her belongings. _

_ "Well would you look at that!" a random guy from the boys' group taunted her. "The priss knows how to show skin!"  _

_ “Looking good, Bloss!”  _

_ She sped into the water with flushed cheeks. Those boys were so vulgar. _

_ “Whoo- Hoo! Swimming!” Bubbles cheered at finally being able to enjoy the water, even if she had to capture innocent fish. _

_ “Yeah!” other girls cheered. _

_ “I guess this is swimming too!”  _

_ The other girls eagerly removed the extra clothing and rushed back into the water, doing their best to ignore the hollering from the boys. When several girls began emerging with freshly caught fish in their hands, however, they became concerned.  _

_ “How the hell are they doing that?!”  _

_ “That has to be cheating!” _

_ The rowdyruffs stood at attention, eyes narrowing dangerously in the heat of competition. _

_ “No way we’re losing to them!” Butch spat. “Men, charge!”  _

_ “AHHHHHHHH!” _

_ The boys dropped their rods on bank and dove into the water, not caring enough to bother to shed the extra weight. They swam over to the girls' territory raiding on their fish parade.  _

_ This started an all-inclusive fish war.   _

_ Boys tackled girls in the water, stealing the fish out of their arms.  _

_ Some girls fought back with brute force, elbows and punches were thrown. _

_ “Butch, get out of my territory!” Buttercup elbowed him in the gut.  _

_ "No way!" he shot back, knocking her into the water with a backhand. _

_ "Pfft! Puh!' Buttercup spat out water. Teeth bared in a snarl, she launched on his back, attacking him with fury. _

_ Hair was pulled. _

_ “BRICK! LET ….GO OF ...ME!”  Blossom sputtered in between breaths as Brick dragged her through the water. His grip on her hair prevented her from moving around the secure more fish for the team.  _

_ That does it! She mentally yelled.  _

_ Extending an arm upward, she grabbed hold of his hair, harshly tugging him backward and down into the water. She rolled them over to escape but he refused to let go, shoving her face forward to the bottom of the lake while his eyes scanned the fish in the surrounding area. _

_ Eyes narrowing, Blossom turned her head, shooting her laser vision in his face then reversed the roles when he finally let go. Were they trying to catch fish, or drown each other? _

_ And others….used the fish as weapons.  _

_ Boomer and Bubbles faced off in the water. The blue ruff wanted that large fish in her arms and he wasn’t about to play nicely for it.  _

_ “Sorry Bubs,” he cooly said with a shrug. “This is nothing personal.” _

_ She offered him a kind smile. “Sorry Boomie, but this is everything personal.”  _

_ Bubbles sunk under the water. “Glub glub, glub glub!” she muffled, confusing the blonde ruff.  _

_ “Wha-”  _

_ A fish bumped into him. Boomer looked around for it to grab, but another one hit him and another and another.  _

_ “Ack!” Boomer coughed, spitting away the fresh taste of a raw fish in his mouth but they kept coming. They smacked him in the face, the chest, his back, the side of his head.  _

_ “Ahhh!” he screamed, retreating far away from the giggling Bubbles.  _

_ The coach and guidance counselors stood watching the madness from the bank, partially concerned yet entertained. No one sustained any serious injuries from what they could tell, there was no bleeding, no crying, boys, and girls were running out of the water dumping fish in several buckets and rushing back in. They would eat great today and tomorrow...and the next day….and probably the day after that.  _

_ As the pros said, a little healthy competition was good for the soul. Too bad they were on a time limit. _

_ “One minute left!”  _

_ “Damn it!” Buttercup cursed, sinking under the water for more fish. The boys had taken advantage of her fishing tactic, making it much harder to secure a victory. But there still a chance! _

_ Buttercup yanked hold of several fishes, even the smaller ones, stuffing them into her vest, bra and one between her teeth for extra security. It reeked like hell. She sank her teeth into its scaly exterior, its nasty blood tinting color on her pink lips, the blisters from its scaly skin flickering into her mouth as it fought her teeth for freedom. Not the mention the couple in her bra that could easily mistake something else as bait….but none of that mattered right now. _

_ “Ten!”  _

_ “Nine!” _

_ “Eight!”  _

_ Buttercup rushed to the surface with kicks as powerful as her exhausted body could make, racing to the bank.  _

_ “Seven!” _

_ She looked to her left at Blossom who was rushing out of the water with a fish, trying to evade a greedy Brick who held two fishes in hand. _

_ “Six!” _

_ “Five!”  _

_ She looked over to her right at Bubbles. _

_ “No fair!” her sister shouted. _

_ Boomer pushed Bubbles down and raced over to the boys' buckets with her fish. _

_ “Four!” _

_ Butch came out of nowhere holding a shit ton of fish in his arms, racing beside her as they neared the stone filled area of the lake.  _

_ “Three!” _

_ “What are you a primal child?” he made fun of her predicament but Buttercup ignored him in favor of the buckets. She had to win this for her sisters, the team and herself. _

_ “Two!” _

_ “One!”  _

_ Both greens made it to their buckets just in time.  _

_ “Times up! Drop your fish!” the coach blew his whistle, clearly having enjoyed the battle way too much.  _

_ The boys and girls teams sunk to their knees, panting from exhaustion as the guidance counselors began tallying each team's fish count. As the class representative, Blossom picked herself up and distributed towels to every soaked person especially and her bottle of mouthwash and water for the vomiting most valuable player of the day.  _

_ After what seemed to be the longest ten minutes of their lives, the coach, accompanied by the two guidance counselors was ready to announce the undisputed winner of the fish war.  _

_ “What a…..,” coach searched for the words, placing an awkward hand behind his head. “Daunting experience this was.”  _

_ "I am unbelievably proud of all your progress, not only did you hike for hive for hours, you all, including our supers whom I asked to keep an even playing field, still managed to umm...master the art of fishing! And for that, you all deserve a round of applause."  _

_ There was a steady but quick round of applause.  _

_ “Now it was a close call, a fish and a half by size separating one team from victory! The winner of the…,” a guidance counselor whispered in his ear. “Fish war is…..” _

_ There it was...the moment of truth.  _

_ The girls held each other’s hands, eyes closed in hopes of victory.  _

_ The boys held confident gazes, some patting one another’s backs with small murmurs of “We got this, guys,” for encouragement.  _

_ “The GIRLS!” _

_ The group of girls hopped off the ground in a bounce, jumping up and down in shrieks and cheers.  _

_ They huddled together in a circle, tossing Buttercup into the air. _

_ “MVP!” _

_ “MVP!” _

_ “MVP!” _

_ Buttercup grinned to the skies, basking in her greatness. _

**_-End of Flashback-_ **

Butch rolled into the parking lot of said establishment, a brow arched in confusion. "I don't remember the ending being that way," he said to her, mostly reminiscing the girls' team passing out from exhaustion shortly after they won.

Buttercup avoided his gaze in favor of the window, lips pursed and arms folded in her lap. “Yeah well think harder.”

With a roll of his eyes, Butch turned off the ignition, pulling down on the hand breaks before facing Buttercup again. “Whatever you remember,” he spoke in a gentler tone. “ It was still an important day to me.”

She quirked a brow, peering over at him in curiosity. “What’s so special about it?”

Butch broke eye contact for a quick second, tone still gentle. “You earned my respect that day, is all.”

“Huh?” she replied in mild confusion. Not once had Butch ever mentioned this sort of thing before.

Butch cleared his throat, reassuming his bad boy posture. "You endured all that just to see your team to victory…. And although I'm pretty sure you just hate to lose…" he paused, staring into a jade green.

A rosy blush decorated Buttercup’s cheeks, eyes glimmering ever so slightly.

_ But?... _

“Because you’re such a sore loser….” his mouth morphed into a grin. “It makes you a great person in my eyes!” he spat with enthusiasm and exited the vehicle.

Buttercup blinked her eyes.

_ Did he just sneak diss me? _

Her eyes narrowed, shoving open the door. “PRICK!” she shouted after him.

* * *

 

**_7:30 am_ **

_ *Yawn.* _

Blossom’s hand hovered over her mouth, slow but provisional clicks of her heels leading the puff into the Jojo Incorporation building., pushing through the front doors.

She opted for a dress today, It was convenient. Her hair? It swished from side to side in its long auburn glory much like her red, veiny scleras. 

Fighting off fatigue and yet another yawn, Blossom fumbled with the elevator buttons, relying on memory to select the desired floor. After an extended day of work, she sacrificed an extra five hours, three for the completion of Brick's report and the other two..well, worrying if there was still a job to attend in the morning. 

_ Ding!  _

Blossom left the elevator, greeting the general secretary a good morning during her beeline to the kitchen area. Might this be her last day, Brick still disliked receiving the same breakfast twice. So, she favored a mug cake as a farewell token.  

The purse containing her report remained glued to Blossom’s side as she prepared the ingredients, mind surrendering to her subconscious. 

_ Those restaurant workers needed an autocratic manager.  _

After running a diagnosis on the failing restaurant, Blossom pinpointed its weaknesses and a plot for intervention as requested by Brick. 

Adherence to policy standards was just average at best. While every employee should express comfort in their line of work, theory x workers naturally needed more extrinsic rewards but they weren't incompetent. Micro-management could make all the difference in such a crisis.

On the topic of management, Katy, the current manager bit off way more than she could chew with the fast-paced environment of the restaurant industry. She struggled to track the daily customer feed count, stakes of profitably popular food orders and at average was ok with inventory maintenance. Then on top of that staffing, customer disputes and other shenanigans during operating hours stressed her out from lack of control. Nor had their menu been updated to suit that particular location. Profitable food items should be grouped with other remunerative choices, perhaps at the offer of discounted bundles when purchased all together. 

Boomer was too trusting of a person in this savage business world. Katy either needed a well-rounded assistant or resign so a more diligent individual could be assigned the position, as harsh as that may sound. 

Removing the chocolatey coated whisk from the mug, Blossom placed it in the sink and the mug into the microwave for five minutes. The customer service was generally good, by her means. A rational mindset for discrepancies with the help of specialized training could implement and sustain employee level-headedness when confronted with difficult people. Together with regular food assessments and kitchen maintenance, Tour De Lave would become a force to be reckoned with.

In addition, proper social media marketing was inescapable. Interactive websites and platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in this age of technology required a consistent routine of eye-catching ads with vibrant color, high-quality videos consistency and stimulating a conversation between a business and consumers of the general public.

Blossom loosely held an arm, idly watching as the minutes counted down. Her last prob-- _ well Brick’s last problem, _ was Boomer and his bellyaching, lackadaisical attitude. Blossom’s brows knitted, forcing down a bitter lump of bile in her throat. Discrepancies such as this spoke volumes about a person’s character which ultimately, was mortifying behavior on her end. 

At that moment, Blossom should have allowed her leadership capabilities to shine but instead, succumbed to her inner turmoils in the form of envious malachite. Jerk or not, she was supposed to be the bigger person and failed, yet on the contrary, a tiny flame in her subconscious held zero no feelings of regret. She had stood her ground and refused blatant disrespect, that elemental characteristic too, was worthy of positive reconsideration.

Part of her anticipated Brick's thoughts and the other half quivered as would a fear-stricken puppy. Who knows what went through that sardonic mind of his? 

She released a weary breath.

The microwave had beeped thrice. Blossom opened its door, checking on the portioned cake before removal. The fluffy, chocolate goodness rose so nicely over the mug, she was tempted to make one for herself. With a small mitt, she set the mug on the counter to cool off naturally. While ice breath certainly came in handy, it was still viewed as unsanitary without direct permission.

In the meanwhile, Blossom readied a bowl of berries to serve on the side. Footsteps were heard entering the kitchen, so based on yesterday’s experience, she bid whoever it was a brief good morning. 

“Good Morning,” they had actually replied this time. 

But that voice….. 

Blossom dared to look over her shoulder, gaze locked on none other than the blue rowdyruff himself. 

_ Great….. _

She retreated her gaze.

On the surface, it might have been a childish act, but Blossom chose to finish Brick's breakfast preparations before addressing the elephant in the room.

Boomer quietly maneuvered over to the fridge for his chocolate pudding, visibly noticing the stiffening of Blossom's body when opening the fridge door. Dark blue peered at the inside.

“So you’re still mad at me, huh?” he said to her, tone easygoing. Reaching for his pudding, Boomer shut the door. 

Blossom said not one word, dusting powdered sugar over that mug of cake.

"I take it you are," he concluded, retrieving a spoon from the drawer. Boomer went over to the opposite counter, indulging in his pudding glancing to and from Blossom as the seconds went by. In high school, he received a bare glimpse of the pink puff's silent treatment, but she had to speak to him sometime.

Still...it felt quite awkward.

Boomer placed a spoonful of pudding in his mouth, handling this much better than he originally anticipated. It probably helped that Blossom wasn’t the abrasive, confrontational type, yet it was within her personality to hold a grudge. That was better than a verbal tongue lashing.

_ But still…. _

Boomer stirred the spoon around in his pudding, expression steeped in guilt. What should he do? 

Boomer snuck an uncomfortable glance at Blossom, knowing he was the one at fault. She silently poured Brick’s coffee, near ready to leave the kitchen.

He began to panic on the inside, the palms of his hands growing unpleasantly hot and clammy with sweat.

Would a sorry suffice? 

Would she accept his apology?

Why did he care anyway?! 

Boomer grit his teeth, jaw tight by dint of affliction. 

She was the employee not him. 

He owed her nothing!

_ So why…. _

Why did those words of hers keep circulating in his memory? What the f$#k?! 

_ *Er-hmm.*  _

Blossom cleared her throat, officially facing the blue rowdyruff with the breakfast and coffee in hand. She took in his disgruntled demeanor with a grain of salt, herself conflicted to even vocalize this apology but possessed respect for her superiors, regardless of who they were and in this case, the minor things they had done.

So as much as she wanted to walk away right now...Blossom swallowed her pride. 

“Sorry,” she apologized, lips curved in a saddened pout. “I went overboard...” 

As Boomer watched those pink eyes of hers nervously shift to the corner of her eyes, his jaw ran a tad bit slack. She was avoiding eye contact. That was very much unlike the Blossom he knew all his life.

Brick’s breakfast trembled in her hold. 

She forced herself to resume eye contact, tears welling up in her eyes. “ _ I- _ I was angry….and...and...” 

Blossom shook her head and abruptly left the kitchen, venturing all the way to Brick’s office without a glance behind her. Barbara had said Brick went into his office, she didn’t even utter the lady a thank you.

But she had done it. She exerted the role of a grown up.  _ So great. _

Blossom had been so put off by Boomer’s presence, her own desire for piping hot caffeine and a quick bite to eat subsided in that scenario.  _ Oh well. _

She sighed, long and spiritless.  _ Let’s just get this over with. _

Blossom set the coffee on the plate and opened the door, revealing none other than Brick scrolling through his laptop. 

She gulped. “G-Good Morning, Brick,” Blossom timidly spoke.

He nodded in reply, not sparing her a glance. 

Biting her lip, she set his breakfast down on the large desk, watching as Brick immediately reached for it. He was quite early this morning...then again her position should be available on the net by now...

She reached for her purse, retrieving the report and set it on his desk. “I got all the details you wanted and I summarized key points.”

Brick casually chewed on his chocolate cake. Blossom couldn’t help but nervously choke up as he offered her yet another nod. “Cool,” he added this time, picking up the report.

"Uh...Umm…" she stammered to speak, stomach churning in the worst moment ever.

“Is there a problem Miss Utonium?” Brick questioned her desk loitering, eyes skimming through her report as he munched on cake.

“ _ Err _ …. _ n- _ no b-but….” Blossom took a comforting breath. “I was wondering.. _ i- _ if y-you were  _ g- _ going to  _ f- _ fire  _ m- _ me?” 

“No,” Brick simply replied, missing the way her face lit up at those words of relief. “ Do you wish to be fired, Miss Utonium?” he asked in a rather playful tone.

“N-No!…” she practically squealed, all apparent traces of nervousness gone. 

“Sit down then,” he casually spoke. “I much prefer the view of my office door,” Brick followed up with a smart remark. 

_ Jerk. _

All the same, Blossom took her seat with a smile, a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn't need any further justification, her job was secured and Brick didn't bother to reprehend her, therefore, he had only more or less hated her for yelling at his brother, thank God!

"Did you have breakfast already?" Brick asked her again, facing her this time. He was thoroughly impressed with her findings. Replacing that manager would turn the odds in the restaurant's favor plus he liked the social media idea. Whilst a route commonly used by fast food chains, it could further build a loyal consumer fanbase. He'd throw a bone at marketing for Boomer's benefit. His blonde brother seemed to have humbled a tad since the matter, that was a plus in Brick's eyes. He was right to freeload off-- err… _.entrust  _ Blossom with this task...although the pink puff didn’t seem to be as confident as he remembered.

Blossom met his gaze, he really seemed to be enjoying that cake, capturing slow but generous bites.  _ How cute. _

“Not yet,” she answered him, starting her assigned laptop for a refresher of her daily tasks.

Brick shook his head, reaching for his coffee. “You know what to do.”

"Right," Blossom kindly said, rising from her seat and left for the kitchen yet again, apologizing to Barbara on the way.  

A melodramatic Boomer walked past her to the elevator, a hand in his pocket over a bulging square outline.  She cast a skeptic's eye, the work hour would start shortly, what could he possibly have to do outdoors? 

_ Are those cigarettes?  _

She did recall him in the act of smoking the day before.

Cotton candy pink locked onto dark blue, just before the doors of the elevator could close. 

In that instance, Blossom’s fingers gently traced around her wrist. 

_ For some reason. _ ..  _ he looked very sad to me.  _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I know its been forever since I've updated this story and you guys have been asking for of this for some time now. Sorry for the long wait! I split this chapter in half, so there will be a follow-up chapter posting next week. Enjoy!


	4. Part 2: The Inner Battles We Face

_ Part 2: The Inner Battles We Face  _

* * *

“Dear?” Barbara’s voice reached her ears.

Not realizing she had been staring aimlessly at the metal doors, Blossom blinked repeatedly as her mind resurfaced to the physical world.

“Are you alright?”

She cleared her throat. “Yes, uh...I’m fine Ms. Barbara but…” Blossom paused, meeting the woman’s eyes. “By chance, do you know if there’s anything going on with Boomer?” 

Barbara closed her eyes, head tilting a bit backward. “Mr. Boomer has been under a bit of stress for quite some time now. There are days when it is disguised to a fault and others where he is prone to outbursts.” 

“Outbursts?” she muttered in curiosity.

“Yes, Mr. Boomer usually means no harm. He either submits himself into art projects or smokes every now and then.”  

Blossom put a palm of frustration over her face. Boomer had attempted to make peace with her and at the time she was only thinking about herself.

Had she known this prior, she would have never yelled at him.

_ This partially my fault….I was only concerned about myself…..he tried to talk to me and I--. _

Blossom balled a fist. Those saddened pools of blue kept projecting in her mind. 

_ Darn it… _ . _ I’ll fix this... _

On that note, Blossom sped off to the kitchen and made a peanut butter sandwich just so Brick would see her eat something decent. Not only did Barbara reveal that Boomer indulged in his art for relief, but from setting foot in his office, Blossom could tell it was much, much more than that. Boomer was an incredible artist, why hadn’t he made a career out of it, she understood not.

Scurrying into Brick’s office holding the napkin-secured sandwich, Blossom went straight for the filing cabinet for a sheet of printing paper. 

“Brick, do you have any colored pens by chance?” she asked her boss, who didn’t look too concerned by her request. 

“I got colored pencils,” was his Brick’s simple answer. He pulled his desk drawer open then held up Bonnie’s spare pack of colored pencils. They were meant to keep his daughter occupied whenever she spent time with him at work, but Brick didn’t mind Blossom using them. 

“That’s great!” the pink puff had exclaimed, accepting the pencils. Brick watched as Blossom, who nibbled on that mediocre excuse for a proper sandwich, hastily drew on the sheet of paper. Given her selection of colors, it was apparent the puff felt guilty for lashing out at Boomer and this was her subtle means of making amends to consider his feelings.

Brick couldn’t help but roll his eyes in partial annoyance. Honestly, Blossom’s selfless trait always found some way to poke at his nerves while at the same time, he admired just how much of her personal desire the puff surrendered to  _ ‘save the day’  _ even if those ideas were frowned upon by many during adolescent years. A goodie two shoes to the core, she was. 

At least in her snobby, uptight, state, Blossom said what she meant and meant what she said. Boomer is the one that’s supposed to apologize to her, not the other way around.  

Brick faced his laptop again, fingers clicking on the keyboard.

_ Typical Blossom. _

_ “Humph.”  _

_**……….** _

Ten minutes later, Boomer had re-entered the building, strolling down the hallway. Emotions much more stable than earlier, the blue ruff returned to his office with a soft smile, stowing away the cigarettes for the next occasion. 

He cracked his knuckles. “Alright, time to get shit done,” he spoke to himself and activated his laptop. There was a folded white piece of paper next to it. Curious, Boomer reached for it, opening the folds to reveal a frightening sketch of what he assumed to be himself and the pink Powerpuff hugging. There was a chat bubble that said:  _ “I accept your apology. Let’s be friends.” _

Boomer shook his head, a chuckle fleeing his lips. “Even Bonnie draws better than this,” he humored. He set the paper down, gently smiling as he took in his tasks of the day.

* * *

**_10:00 am Pokey Oaks Kindergarten_ **

The class of children sat at their miniature tables in groups of three, coloring with crayons. Towards the end of the week, Bubbles found creative ways to entertain the children and get them all excited for the weekend as Miss Keane would do back in her Kindergarten years. Today, the kids would sing and dance their little hearts out during recess and lunch and tomorrow, she would spin the wheel of tv-shows, for the kids to watch an episode from their selection of favorite shows. Last week it was The Little Einsteins, they were so cute singing along to the theme song.

_ “Teehehehehe..” _ Bubbles lightly giggled to herself, resuming her observation of the students. The newly formed trio of Bonnie, Imogen and Sara sat at the center table, chatting as their fingers colored the sheets of paper. It was good to see Bonnie opening up and engaging with her classmates. Not once, had she used her cell-phone this morning.

Bubbles bore a pleasant smile on her face.  _ So cute. _

She peered around at her other students, all having fun with the activity. Over at the furthest table to the left of the class, Tommy was reunited with his best friend Frank. Frank’s father had a rather unique parenting style, keeping the boy home and working their family’s garden as a form of discipline for his misbehavior. While the thought of a five-year-old doing manual labor instead of being at school unsettled Bubbles, the man did explain it was to teach a lesson on the essence of hard work to become rich.  _ Eh…. _ it was still better than a physical lashing and Frank was compensated for his work. At his age, Bubbles was fighting crime for $0.99, before, during or even after school hours and was lucky enough to receive a cruddy piece of candy on occasions. Funny how life worked.

Now as for his partner in crime, Tommy was surprisingly very well behaved today as per his usual standards. Though, the mischievous boy’s outfit might have had something to do with that. 

_ Pffft. _

Bubbles found herself bursting into fits of giggles. It was just so funny.

At the table, Tommy Kelly, her student whose sense of style contained all the edge, was wearing a purple polo shirt with a white cardigan tied around his neck, three-quarter khaki’s, white calf-high socks and matching purple vans. His hair pulled the entire outfit together, the once fluffy spikes were now neatly gelled back with a side part to the right. Oh, that ensemble screamed Lauren Kelly’s son. She wondered how the lady did it.

_ Pfft.   _ Bubbles cracked herself up, resuming the monitoring of her other students. 

_ Poor Tommy.  _

The frowning Tommy colored quietly at his seat, turning around only to glare at those who made comments about his attire of the day. 

_ Tch.  _

If his older brother and elder sister had been born more competent human beings, this wouldn’t be happening right now. Why must he be the child of prosperity?! He never asked for this pedestal! 

“ _ Stupid _ clothes..... _ stupid _ mom…,” Tommy grumbled to himself, tightly gripping his crayon. 

Frank snickered. “You know, you look like one of those rich golfer guys on tv,” he lightheartedly joked.

“Ugh, shut up!” Tommy growled. “My mom’s still mad at me and said she would cancel my martial arts training if I didn’t wear this today!” he whined, vexed that his favorite activity became an ultimatum for extortion.

“Sounds rough,” laughed Frank but still expressed his sentiments in the form of a supportive pat on the back.

“Urgh!” Tommy huffed and threw his crayon across the classroom.  _ It’s not fair….why can’t I have normal parents like everyone else? _

“Tommy!” Bubbles scolded him. “Go pick up that crayon right now!”  

He folded his arms. “No!”

“Tommy!” Bubbles warned him, placing her hands on her hips.

The boy turned his head away from her. Frank nervously swallowed and barred his mouth with a hand, reminding Tommy of all the trouble he’s already in at home to not make things any worse.

“Tommy, I said to go pick up the crayon  _ now _ !” Bubbles rose her voice, locking the attention of all her students, especially Bonnie and friends.

“No!” Tommy sneered, flaring his nostrils. “You can’t make me!”

Bubbles marched up to his table. “Tom--!”

“NO!” he blurted, cutting his teacher off.

Sara shook her head, visibly wincing. Tommy was brave to try Miss Bubbles. 

_ “Thomas…..”  _ a low but unsettling voice spoke his unofficial name.

_ Wha?  _

He snuck a glance.

_ Gulp. _

As Tommy gazed into the narrowing eyes of Miss Bubbles, the poor kid saw the reflection of his tiny little body go up in scorching hot flames.  “ _ Go. Pick. Up. That. Crayon! _ ” 

Vibrations of fright shot down Tommy’s spine, body trembling as he rose from the seat to retrieve the accursed crayon. 

“And sit in the naughty corner while you’re at it! Don’t you move until I say so!” Bubbles reprimanded him, startling her class in the process. Only when Tommy sat down on the naughty bench, Bubbles took a calming breath then faced her eerily quiet students. 

“Now class,” Bubbles said with a smile, resuming her bubbly demeanor. “Who’s ready for a fun-filled recess?!”

That seemed to have done the trick. 

“MEEE!” many cute little voices yelled at once. 

Bonnie turned to her friends. “Miss Bubbles is kind of scary,” she admitted. 

Sara and Imogen nodded their heads.

“Yup, she sure is,” said Sara.

“I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side,” Imogen added her two cents.

Bubbles cutely giggled at the children’s eagerness. “I have a special surprise today….”

“Ooouuu!”

“Tell us Miss Bubbles!”

“Yeah!”

“This recess we’ll all be dancing to…..” Bubbles whipped out a cd from her pocket. “Baby Shark!”

“Yaaaaaaaay!” the kids, including Bonnie’s friends cheered.

“Um..,” Bonnie awkwardly started. “What’s Baby Shark?”

Sara gasped dramatically. “Only the greatest song ever!” 

“Come on Miss Bubbles is gonna play the cd!” Imogen said, rushing out of her seat. Giggling at her excitement, the two girls followed behind, standing at the side of the classroom while Miss Bubbles moved the tables and chairs for extra space. 

When the music started playing, the kids flooded onto the open area, dancing away. Sara and Imogen took Bonnie’s hands, singing and dancing in a circle. 

**_On the flip side...._ **

Frank quietly stood at the lunch bag rank, holding a bag of cheese puffs his mom had packed for him. He stared at Tommy’s back over in the naughty corner, frowning. His best friend was wrong for what he did but it sucked that Miss Bubbles was gonna leave him there with no recess. 

The bag of cheese puffs crinkled in his hold.

Frank took a look at the newly formed dancefloor where Miss Bubbles danced with some of his classmates and cautiously made his way over at Tommy to share some of his snacks.

“Hey, you want some cheese puffs?!” Frank said loud enough to be heard over the music. 

Tommy looked at Frank then turned his head. “No, it’s yours. I’m good.”

Frank frowned. “But your mom didn’t pack you any right? Have some!” he pleaded.

Tommy shook his head. “You should leave before Miss Bubbles notices. You’ll get in trouble.” 

“But-” 

“I’m fine Frank!” Tommy spat at his best friend, immediately lowering his voice afterward. “Just go...” 

The icy frown on Tommy’s face impaled Frank’s mood in the form of an entrenched counter-frown. Sparing his best friend one last look, Frank walked away from Tommy and went outside all by himself to sit on the grass. He never liked that stupid baby shark song anyway, even if it was catchy.

_**………..** _

**** Bonnie excused herself a from hyperactive Imogen and Sara who seemed irremovable from the dancefloor, for a drink of water and bite to eat. She took the contents from her lunch box and head for the sweet outdoors for a small break. 

It was very quiet and empty compared to inside, no loud music and the cooling chills of the wind blew through the exposed section of her hair. Only one person was out there, the other guy who bullied her on the first day, Frank.  _ Hmmph. _

However he did apologize to her this morning and she had already forgiven Tommy so, Bonnie  Frank may be alright too. 

“Hey Frank,” she greeted him, sitting down under the shady tree.

“Hey,” he said.

Bonnie opened up her bowl to reveal some yummy chicken nuggets. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

Frank gave her a weird look. “You’re already sitting.”

“I just wanted to ask,” she politely replied.

“Ok.” He went back to staring into an empty space in the schoolyard.

Bonnie ate her nuggets in silence, mildly watching as Frank opened his snack only to lazily eat it as if something was bothering him.  _ Hmmm. _

“Do you miss Tommy?” Bonnie asked him, speaking her mind.

“Huh?” Frank met her eyes again.

“I asked if you Miss Tommy?” said Bonnie. “You look a bit lonely.”

His reddened up a tad bit. “ _ Tch!  _ What are you even talking about?!”

“Yesterday Tommy came and sat with my friends and I. He seemed pretty lonely without you so I thought you would feel the same way,” Bonnie clearly spoke, not bothered by Frank’s sudden aggressive tone.

If anything Frank seemed more somber than angry. 

“I guess…” he softly admitted. 

Bonnie bit into another nugget. “Do you know why he was so rude to Miss Bubbles?”

“Its none of your business.”

Bonnie shook her head. “You two are so much alike.” 

His eyes narrowed at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What I just said,” Bonnie sassed him. “How are people supposed to help if you won’t say anything?” 

“Help how? Why do you care?”

Bonnie rolled her eyes. Were boys her age so naturally defensive? 

She covered her bowl of nuggets and put her hands on her hips. “Look if  it will make you feel better, my friends and I could try to get Miss Bubbles to let Tommy out of the naughty corner.”

That seemed to have gotten through his barrier of defense. Frank’s eyes lit up, meeting Bonnie’s confident gaze. “I’m listening.”

“Good. Follow me,” Bonnie said. She guessed this was her good deed of the day, her dad would be proud.  

Bonnie met up with Sara and Imogen who were standing at the side of the classroom with water and their snacks. 

“Hey Bonnie, where did you go?” Sara was the first to ask her.

“I got hungry but right now I need you guys to help,” she said to her friends.

“What’s going on?” Imogen asked, eyeing Franks presence. 

“Yeah, and why is he with you?” Sara followed up, still baring a minor grudge on the kid. 

“I’m doing him a favor. We’re gonna get Tommy out of naughty time.”

“What?!” they exclaimed.

“Why should we? He was mean to Miss Bubbles!” Sara professed but Frank defended his friend.

“Miss Bubbles was mean to him too!” Frank shot back.

“But she’s the teacher! And he threw a crayon across the class!” Sara said to refresh Frank’s memory.

“Yeah, that was rude,” Imogen added in defense of Sara’s argument.

Frank clenched his fists, determined to stick up for Tommy no matter what. “Then why didn’t Miss Bubbles ask why he threw it before she yelled at him?! He wasn’t ok!” Frank shouted at them, now hyperventilating. Tommy would be mad at him for telling them but his recess was on the line.

Frank looked over his shoulder at Miss Bubbles before continuing. “His mom can be really mean…..and when she’s mad at him, he won’t get any snacks for school,” Frank confessed with a frown on that baby face of his. “Sometimes it gets really bad….” his pitch rose again. “So don’t call Tommy a bad person, you don’t know him!”

A feeling of unhappiness settled in the air around them. Neither of them knew that Tommy had problems at home. 

“Oh…”

Sara felt kind of bad now though she still thought Tommy was a jerk.“That’s sad.”

“So what’s the plan, Bonnie?” Imogen asked her, watching as Bonnie put a hand under her chin to think. The only non-self incriminating option they had was to just ask Miss Bubbles and quite frankly, Tommy wasn't worth getting in trouble for a second time.

“Everyone put their snacks under the tree outside! Then come with me!” Bonnie announced to the group.

“Ok!”

Sara and Imogen quickly went out to put their snacks down then shortly returned. 

“Now what do we do?” Sara asked Bonnie.

“Nicely ask Miss Bubbles to let Tommy out,” she answered all nonchalant.

Frank’s jaw fell open in a small o. “That’s the craziest plan I’ve ever heard!” he complained.

“But what if she’s still upset?” Sara feared, Imogen’s scrapbook section on Bubblevicious was absolutely terrifying.

“Only one way to find out,” Bonnie confidently spoke. The kids sucked in a breath of encouragement and walked up to Miss Bubbles.

Bonnie lightly patted on Bubbles leg to get her attention. “Miss Bubbles can we talk you for a sec?”

“Sure!” Bubbles said, leading the group of children over to the doorframe where it was quieter. 

She squatted down to their level. “What’s up?” 

They looked at each other. 

“Well,” Bonnie spoke first. “We were wondering if you would let Tommy dance with us to baby shark.”

“What?”

“Yeah,” Sara backed her up. “Tommy really loves that song.”

“No, he doesn--!” 

Imogen elbowed Frank in the side.

Holding in a wince, Frank nodded. “Yeah, he really loves that song Miss Bubbles.”

“We know he was bad but recess is almost over,” Imogen pleaded.

“And he’s our new friend,” Sara added.

“So please let Tommy dance with us,” their cute little voices all asked unison.  

Bubbles studied the faces of them all, ultimately sighing. She couldn’t punish Tommy forever and for whatever reason, these four were willing to bargain for his freedom. 

“Alright. You can all tell Tommy that he’s now free to enjoy recess,” Bubbles gave in, making a mental note to keep an extra eye on this bunch.

They all smiled. “Thanks, Miss Bubbles!” they said, running off inside the classroom. 

Bubbles watched as they ran up to Tommy, eagerly pulling the boy out of the naughty zone to dance.

She shook her head and went back to supervising the other dancing and mingling students. 

“Hey!” Tommy protested, fighting their hold. “What gives?!” 

“Come on doofus, we got Miss Bubbles to let you off the hook!” Sara blurted, dragging him along.

“What?” he uttered in disbelief.

“It’s true!” Frank said. “We all worked together, but you should thank Bonnie. It was her idea.”

Tommy looked at Bonnie then to Frank again, glaring. “What did you tell her?!” 

Imogen rolled her eyes. “Oh stop and pretend to dance already! Miss Bubbles is watching us!” she head gestured to the supervising teacher.

“I promise it wasn’t much! Just enough to bust you out!” Frank reassured his friend in the moment.

There were still many questions Tommy wanted to ask but chose to let it go since they went this far to break him out. “Grrr! Fine!” he whined, dancing to the stupid song. 

“You too!” Imogen said to Frank, using her wind powers to gently move him from side to side, just enough to look like his feet was still touching the ground.

“Hey!” Frank complained, not knowing Imogen was a super person too. “Dancing wasn’t part of the deal!”

“Well, it is now, so fake your way to the door!” Bonnie told him, herself pretending to dance.

“Ugh!” Frank complained, moving his arms and legs to the beat, secretly having fun. 

They inched closer and closer to the doorway, making sure Miss Bubbles was distracted then made a run for it.

They went under the tree and sat down. The kids opened their snacks and offered some to Tommy who sighed in defeat. 

“You guys are weird,” he meekly commented, reaching for Bonnie’s chicken nuggets first. The skin on the outside was really nice and crispy when he bit in.

Sara watched as Tommy quietly indulged in the snacks they offered him and scoffed. “A thank you would be nice!” 

“And a better attitude,” said Imogen. 

Tommy huffed, folding his arms. “Take it or leave it toots….but…”

He turned away from them, hiding his flushing face. “Thanks.”

Weirdly enough, it made the girls and Frank smile. 

“Soooo,” Imogen started. “Since we’re all practically friendlier now, can you tell us what was bothering you Tommy?” she pried for details.

He went silent before answering as if debating what to say. “It’s a long story.”

“Shorten it then. We’ll listen, right guys?” Imogen encouraged Tommy to speak.

“Yeah!” the kids said.

Tommy finished another chicken nugget, peering up at them. “You have to promise not to tell anyone, ok?’

They all nodded their heads.

Tommy steepled his fingers, hesitating to share his truth.“My family….is .different.”

“How different?” Bonnie queried, watching as his eyes wandered.

“My mom works a lot and she's a really fussy person. My dad gets busy often but he’s kinder than my mom is and I have two older siblings,” Tommy spoke, tone melancholic. 

Tommy's fingers moved to fumble with the fabric of his cardigan. “My brother’s eight, he goes to elementary school.” “He’s not very good at a lot of things and doesn’t like outdoorsy stuff. My parents made him join sports clubs but he couldn’t play very well and complained all the time. So they stopped bothering and now he tries very hard just to make them happy.” 

“Oh…”

“My sister’s a teenager in high school, she’s the oldest. She fails a lot and my dad gets disappointed so my mom says she’s not that smart and that it embarrasses her. It hurts my sister’s feelings, so they argue a lot...” Tommy revealed.

The kids looked visibly sad. “That’s really mean.”

“And me….I .” he paused to suck in a breath. “I play soccer, baseball and swim on the weekends, I do martial arts three times a week. I’ve always been smart, in schoolwork I can already pass the third-grade basics. To my mom, I'm the only one that matters and...” his voice broke. 

“Oh man….” Frank awkwardly commented, not knowing what to do with his hands.

“And it's really not that great to be me,” Tommy rasped, his eyes began watering and naturally he just blinked the tears away. 

“I’m sorry to hear that, Tommy,” Bonnie offered her sympathy but Tommy just shook his head. 

“Don’t be. It has nothing to do with you.”

“But--”

“No buts. Just don’t go around telling anyone, I have a reputation ya know?” Tommy’s pride entered the conversation. 

Sara folded her arms. Tommy was taking this way too lightly. “Don’t you think Miss Bubbles could help you? I mean she is our teacher.”

Tommy glared at Sara. “No!” he defensively spat.

“Why not?” Bonnie dared to question, taking on Tommy’s malicious gaze. 

“I said no! And she’s always mean to Miss Bubbles anyway, so it won’t work!” 

“But-”

Tommy grabbed her by the shirt, forcing Bonnie to look into his eyes. “NO! Promise me you won’t say anything!” he shouted at her. 

“Hey, let her go!” Sara snapped.

“Tommy…chillout..” Frank started, nervously motioning over to them. 

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone!” he yelled at Bonnie. He felt a weird a breeze slipping through his fingers, loosening his hold on the red-eyed girl.

“Stop it, Tommy!” Imogen spoke up. This isn’t how you treat people that care.”

He frowned but didn’t let Bonnie go. She didn’t fight him either, he was no form of an immediate threat to her kind. But Bonnie had her own reason for not shoving Tommy away, just like yesterday, his eyes matched the words he spoke. Tommy was really hurting on the inside and the thought of it all made her sad. 

“Ok,” Bonnie softly said. “I won’t tell.” 

“Do you promise?” Tommy asked, struggling to maintain his hold on her. 

“......”

“I promise…..,” she whispered, frowning as he finally let her go.

Sara huffed, tossing her arms into a fold. 

“Are you ok, Bonnie?” Imogen asked her friend. 

“....Yeah,” she softly said. “I’m fine.” 

The surrounding air became tediously quiet, the sounds of the wind and vehicles whooshing past the schoolyard creating an awkward atmosphere for all five of them. 

Ill at ease, Tommy set a hand behind his head. “So um… thanks for all the snacks,” he said to no-one in particular.

“Your welcome….” Imogen answered on behalf of them all.  

Frank gawkily played with his fingers. “So...are we good now?” he couldn’t help but ask. Geez, all this tension. 

“It’s whatever.”

“Ditto.”

“ _ Mhmm. _ ”

Imogen sighed, her friends were all caught up in their feelings. “Anyway, we should--”

“Children!” 

They jumped, that was Miss Bubbles’ voice. 

“Recess is over. When did you all go outside?” Miss Bubbles skeptically asked them through the classroom window. 

“Umm…” they all looked around at each other to come up with something. 

“We..uh…” Sara started. “ _ W- _ We got tired, Miss Bubbles! So we came out here!” she lied through the skin of her teeth. 

Bubbles quirked a brow. She only remembered seeing them dance for about 30 seconds. “Alright, well come inside, the class is starting!” 

“Ok!”

* * *

 

**_Mechanix_ **

Over at the car filled wash bay arena, Buttercup had just finished hosing a truck with water from the top down, being sure to get the dirt out of the hidden areas. She took the high-pressure foam wash gun and coated the car with the white foamy bubbles and used a microfiber cloth to give the base a thorough cleaning. There were ten large truck orders from a company due for detailing. These often took more manual labor, and since the company paid for an interior to exterior cleaning and polish, everyone that assigned to this area for the day worked in pairs of two for quicker service. Although Buttercup didn’t need the extra hands, her co-worker Todd assisted with the washing of the rims and tires. It saved her all the bending down anyway, she much preferred floating upright.

When they were equally finished, Buttercup hosed down the truck again, thoroughly washing away all the dirty, foamy water. Once clean, Todd held his cloth ready as Buttercup sucked in a deep breath and blew the vehicle generously but slowly enough for the guy to pass the cloth around. Where Todd couldn’t reach, Buttercup took over, dominating over the other teams who used leaf blowers. 

Now the only thing left was that polish job. Todd went over to machinery section, to retrieve the buffing machines, its pads and a bottle of the polish compound. Together, they dabbed small sections of the truck and buffed out the polish, passing over the microfiber cloths for shine element. The coat glistened under the fluorescent lights. 

Another job well done. 

Todd agreed to move the truck over to the garage so Buttercup dropped the cloth on her shoulder, picked the machinery up, returned the tools to its rightful section and carried the dirty pads and the two cloths for washing at the sink. She added soap powder to one bucket and the other cleaner compound, allowing the items to soak. The last person to finish in the area usually got stuck with cleaning duty, she just gave them a head-start.  _ They're welcome.  _

_!!! _

Was that a yell?

_!!! _

By the second yell, curiosity had already killed the cat. The workers in the wash bay, Buttercup included, ventured out to locate the source of the noise, the shrills of a foul-mouthed lady booming on the activation of her ultrasonic hearing. 

“I don’t care if he’s in a meeting! I want to see the manager, NOW!” a feminine voice boomed from the receptionist area. 

“Ma’am please-”

“DON’T YOU MA'AM ME! GET HIS ASS DOWN HERE!” the woman protested, only when you acted out it seems, people paid you more respect. When asked nicely earlier, she received a snobby attitude.

The group of workers snickered, propping against the wall as the commotion continued. The ones from the garage also came out to observe the scenario, themselves also in sought of entertainment. Buttercup used her x-ray vision for an added bonus, watching as the skeleton of the receptionist nervously prompted for Mr. Davis, failing to get at his cell. The very last thing she wanted to do was contact Prince because then things would get messy. But did she really have a choice right now?

Swallowing down lumpy bile, the receptionist called for Prince.

“Hello, sorry to bother you Mr. Morbucks but may you please send Mr. Davis down here it’s a bit of a problem--”

The lady took the phone from her. “IT’S A VERY LARGE PROBLEM, COME DOWN HERE IF YOU WOULD SO KINDLY!”

“Yikes,” Buttercup visibly winced.

Concentrating her ultrasonic hearing, Buttercup pried into the conversation for the juicy drama.

“Miss, I would appreciate if you didn’t yell in my ear,” the snobbish tone of Prince’s voice answered. 

_ Oh boy…. _

“Oh yeah?! Well, I’d appreciate if you frauds didn’t charge my credit card without my permission So unless you want the cops swarming this building you better get your ass  down here!”

“First off, I’m not obliged to answer a person that dares to address me in such manner,” Prince had sneered.  

“I CAN TALK TO YOU HOWEVER THE FUCK I WANT, THE FUCK?!”

Prince hung up the phone. 

_ Slam! _

She almost broke the telephone. “If he’s not down here in five minutes, I’m calling the cops!” the woman announced to the entire building. 

Her co-workers cracked themselves up, wondering whose job was on the line today. Buttercup herself snickered at the moment but knew Prince well enough to know the man absolutely hated screw-ups and even worse, screw-ups that affected his public image. 

_ Ding! _

_ Speaking of your highness…. _

The sound of rushed footsteps scampered on the floor.  The wash bay staff stealthy hid out of seeing range when Prince followed by Mr. Davis entered the waiting room. 

“What seems to be the problem, miss?” the voice of Mr. Davis addressed the woman.

“Who spoke to me on the phone?” she snapped. 

The skeleton with Prince's voice stepped forward. “That would be me.”

“You sir,” the woman started, pointing a finger of accusation. “Are a disrespectful prick!”

“Ohhhhhhh!” the wash bay workers laughed among themselves.

“You think I don’t know who you are Mr. Morbucks?! Is this what you do to your customers? Store their credit card information and run charges like it’s nobody's business?!” she chastised him.

Prince disconcertingly rolled his eyes, a mild tone of condescent evading his lips. “Miss, if you would hold that tongue of yours for few seconds and hear me out. I can assure that the storing of credit information is not a thing. I do however acknowledge the fact that an incident among within my staffing occurred. So please, let’s calmly sort this out, shall we?”

She took a deep breath, calming her inner rage to finally get some damn answers. “My name is Charlotte Meyers. My husband Isen used my credit card to purchase an oil change from your company which I was made aware of. However, the bank called me recently and there was a second purchase in which I nor my husband was made aware of.”

_ Ohh...that vehicle again…. _

“Yes, yes, your husband’s vehicle also had a faulty radiator. Him being a loyal customer, we took the liberty to fix the problem--.”

She cut Prince off. “But who’s paying for that cost? Surely it came not, from the bottom of your hearts. He paid for ONE service. You don’t get to make those decisions!” 

“Miss,” Prince emphasized his annoyance with the matter. “I had not been aware that my staff carelessly made a fraudulent charge to your card. I can assure you the culprit will be dealt with immediately and your money will be reissued cost-free for the inconvenience. On behalf of Mechanix, I duly apologize for your bad experience.”

Buttercup arched a brow. Did he mean that Cassidy was going take the heat for this? If she remembered correctly, Prince was the one who instructed her as such. That wasn’t fair.

They continued to civilly discuss the matter and the workers walked off bit by bit, now bored as the drama subdued. Others stayed behind for a little off the record break but when footsteps were heard coming around the corner, every man and woman dashed for their workstations like rampant children. Buttercup, of course, had no real reason to run. Her task was finished and ready for pick up and besides, if she tried to dodge Prince at this point, her green streak would’ve given her away.

“Buttercup?” said Prince, surprised to see her around the corner, about to walk away.

She turned around with a gentle smile. “Yes, sir?” was her polite greeting. 

He quirked a brow. “What are you up to?” he prompted.

“Heading for the lockers, sir. Todd and I finished a truck for delivery,” she spoke, acting as if she had witnessed nothing a moment ago.

Prince's facial expression nullified, tone shifting to a casual manner. “ I see, good job as always.

“Is everything ok, sir?”

“For now, I have disappointing news to break over at marketing,” Prince said, tucking his thumbs into his waistcoat.

“Um…,” Buttercup stammered, “may I ask why?” His bodily stance was one of uncertainty. 

“I gave one simple instruction but clearly common sense isn’t common anymore and it almost cost the company negative publicity,” Prince spoke, chin lifted high.

“......I see...” Buttercup half understood. Cass may have interpreted his words a touch too literally...but she hoped Prince wouldn't severely punish her for it. 

_ Should I say something? _

“Mhmm, carry on. I was just curious,” he dismissed her.

“Ok, sir,” she replied, opting to walk off.  _ It’s probably none of my business anyway. _

“Wait, Buttercup!” he called for her again, just before she could get far enough away. Prince approached her again, much easier going than earlier.

“I’ve been thoroughly enjoying our lunch sessions as of recently,” said Prince, offering her a friendly smile. “Would you mind accompanying me once more?” 

“Oh um..,” she nervously started. “Sorry sir, I already made plans with a friend of mine.” 

His brows furrowed. “I see, so do I know this friend of yours?” he questioned.

“I believe so,” Buttercup chose her words wisely, recalling a certain ruff’s dislike of the Morbucks.

“Very well then,” Prince sharpened his tone, turning to walk away. “Enjoy your lunch,  _ Miss Utonium _ ,” he added, then left for the elevator. 

Dismissing the latter, Buttercup continued on her journey to the change rooms for her lunch outing. Yeah, lunch with Prince was enjoyable and of course, free, but he was still her boss. People would get the wrong impression and besides, a ‘ _ gentleman’ _ had already made his reservations for the lunch hour.

* * *

**_-Flashback-_ **

_ Buttercup and Butch sat near the lower right of the restaurant, chatting over their meal next to a beautiful window view. The restaurant wasn’t as over the top as Buttercup expected it to be. The furnishings were visually appealing but nothing jaw-dropping to fawn over. The food was excellent though and of course, she just had to order herself a juicy slab of steak. _

_ “So what’s the next phase in life?” Buttercup asked Butch, cutting into her steak. _

_ “My next phase..” Butch repeated, thinking over the question before answering.  _

_ “Yeah, I mean,” she paused to take a bite and chew. “ You have a good job, a car, a home, what’s next on your agenda?” _

_ Butch watched as Buttercup attempted to cut into her steak with the wrong side of the knife. He snickered. “Travel the world I guess, I’m not ready for the whole family part,” he answered, thinking of Brick’s responsibilities with Bonnie. He only liked kids if he could give them back after a few hours, and although he loved her, his niece was of no exemption. Then settling down meant serious commitment and women these days were quick to push the marriage ultimatum after a year or so. That's just too much too soon. _

_ “I’m surprised you haven’t done that already,” Buttercup teased his inner baller with elevated eyebrows, but to her surprise, Butch shook his head. _

_ “I couldn’t back then, financially that is,” he was sure to verify the context. Flying broke across the world was no fun the legal way. _

_ “Really?” Buttercup commented in some shock. Didn’t he make like, thousands of dollars a day? _

_Butch sipped his wine before responding. “It’s true that I received a head start, but I’m far from rich...for now. I had to put in the work for everything I own and pay Mojo back for the school expenses._ _Had I not found enjoyment doing what I do, I would have gone nuts over the past few years of hustling. It’s much easier to watch from the outside and think its an all-inclusive, luxurious lifestyle.”_

_ “So….what’s stopping you now?,” Buttercup pried for more details. Guess he wasn’t spoon fed at life either. _

_ “Time and cheapness to an extent,” he confessed. _

_ She snorted. “You? Cheap?” _

_ “The car doesn’t count,” Butch made sure to say. “That’s my baby.” _

_ Buttercup rolled her eyes. “And this restaurant?” _

_ “The prices are worth the food portions, don’t you agree?” he rationalized, taking a bite of his leg of lamb. _

_ “That’s true,” she had to admit. This establishment was now on her radar for dining out purposes. _

_ “Besides….,” he murmured to himself, breaking eye contact. “I wanted to take you somewhere nice….” _

_ Overhearing this, Buttercup blushed. “Y-You did?” _

_ “S-So um...w-what about you?” he prompted for a change of subject, reaching for his wine again. _

_ “Well…” Buttercup sipped hers. “I’m comfortable where I am right now. I’d put in the work for a manager position though, the money’s great.” _

_ “That’s painfully average,” he playfully poked at her desire for normalism. _

_ “Hey, the glory days are over. I just want to work like everyone else, that means finding my own means to the top.” _

_ “Under the Morbucks?” Butch scoffed. “Might as well keep dreaming.” _

_ Buttercup crossed her arms on instinct. “I wouldn't call them my favorite people, but they aren’t as bad as I originally thought. My boss is actually pretty cool. ” _

_ Butch cocked his head. “You’re right, they aren’t as bad as you think. It’s beyond worse,” triggering Buttercup’s defense mechanism. _

_ Her body tensed, shoulders stiff as she opened her mouth to speak. “No I mean it, they’re money grubbers, yeah, but the treatment is pretty good and employees get tons of benefits. It’s a win-win.” _

_ “Until they dispose of you,” Butch commented despite her words. Why she of all people wanted to defend the Morbucks, he understood not. _

_ “Huh?” _

_ “The Morbucks family is a privilege at its best. It runs on generations of using people to get what they want and emptying their pockets with every scheme in the book. They’re smart and manipulative with a good team of lawyers to defend their crooked asses,” Butch explained but still failed to convince Buttercup. _

_ “Aren’t all big corporations like that?” _

_ “There is an extent and a difference between hiring pawns versus hiring employees. Pawns are easy to spot, they’re usually the ones better off compared to the others, like you. But once that pawn’s value deteriorates or makes a refusal, everything goes downhill from there.” _

_ “Excuse me, what?!” Buttercup spat. _

_ Butch held up a palm as the significance of no ill intent. “It’s nothing personal. I’m just saying once that pawn’s value deteriorates in any way, everything goes downhill from there.” _

_ Too bad Buttercup wasn’t a fucking mime. “What do you mean it’s not personal?!” she dismissed his explanation. “You called me a disposal pawn after I just told you how self-motivated I am to reach my goals as any regular person. I don’t care what kind of twisted rivalry you have with the Morbucks, but don’t put me on some type of corrupt pedestal!” _

_Butch leaned in closer to his puff counterpart across the table, so close, the smell of lamb in her face made Buttercup’s stomach churn for the meat._ _“Do you really think the Morbucks hired you for ambition alone? Newsflash!! You puffs have been placed on a pedestal from the day you were born. Your powers are beneficial to them in every way, they’re scamming you and you’re too blinded by some fucking hundreds to see it!”_

_ “Oh, so that’s what you think huh?!” Buttercup blurted, fists tightened as she stood up from her seat.  _

_ “Sit down.” _

_ “Answer me first!” _

_ “Sit down, you’re causing a scene.” _

_ “No!” _

_ “Butterc-” _

_ “Tell the truth, Butch! Is that what you really of me?!” her voice croaked, eyes fierce, not even attempting to understand him.  _

_ “Dammit, woman!” Butch slammed a fist on the table. “All I’m saying is you’re worth more!” he successfully gathered the attention of many patrons in the establishment. _

_ Her gaze fell soft. “I….I am?” _

_ “Yes,” he said, exhaling a sigh of exasperation. “The Buttercup I’ve known all my life always puts 1000% into the things she fights for and personally, I think it’s wasted on those crooks. Start your own business, you would be a great entrepreneur and I’m willing to push you in that direction if no one else can see what I do!” he unintentionally ranted. _

_ Blushing, partially from all the attention she was getting from random people, Buttercup shyly retook her seat, embarrassed at her overreaction. “Sorry,” she meekly apologized. _

_ “It’s whatever, don’t beat up about it,” Butch said, dismissing the built up emotion and resumed his eating.  _

Only six seconds had passed before Buttercup had cracked from the silence.  _ “S-So, you really think I can be my own boss someday?” she started a conversation again, reaching for her glass of wine. _

_ Butch nodded, not really looking at her either. “You’d be perfect.” _

_ In response, Buttercup found herself toying with her meal.“Well I-I’ve thought about it before.” _

_ “And?” _

_ “I..Its...well…” she paused to gather the right words. “It’s Scary to just...start over...ya know? You said I was born on a pedestal, that’s true but that only means I’m expected to fall twice as hard as the average person for powers I happened to be born with,” Buttercup confessed. _

_“You and I both know that I’ve spent the majority of my existence making life easier for others at the extent of sacrificing my own. Superhumans are people too and we have to survive in this world just like everyone else does!” she sighed, sucking in a sharp breath._ _“It’s soooo hard when the same people you’ve busted your ass for, the same people that smiled and waved in your faces, the same ones that heedlessly relied on you for support, turn around and view you as this ultimate antagonist for wanting to pay your bills. Heroism is a one-sided privilege and I don’t give a damn what anyone else says!”_

_ So that’s why she’s so loyal to the Morbucks….. _

_ “I see,” Butch said. Come to think of it, if that’s Buttercup’s reality then the same went for her sisters. But she said the blonde got lucky with a teaching gig and the goodie-goodie served coffee up till now. _

_ “Can I ask you something?” _

_ Buttercup nodded.  _

_ “What do you think of this city?”  _

_ She hesitated not one bit. “It’s a constant slap in the face but that’s never stopped me before so...its whatever,” she shrugged her shoulders. “Life goes on and things have turned around for the better, I can’t bear grudges for the past.” _

_ It’s just as I thought…. _

_ Butch cracked a smile. “Let’s toast to that.” _

_ We’re one and the same.  _

_ They clinked glasses, each finishing their wine. Butch had signaled the waiter for a refill, sure they might have been nearing the borders of tipsy, but to hell with it. _

_ “So about being your own boss…..” Butch started saying. _

_ “Mhmm?”  _

_ “You willing to give it a try?” _

_ “Why not? Since you believe in me so much and all,” Buttercup teased him, watching that delinquent grin of his expand to its fullest capacity.  _

_ “Great!” he beamed. “So the first thing you want to do is create some custom business cards made. I have a great graphics designer so I can have options ready for you by next week.” _

_ “People still use business cards?” she expressed her skepticism. _

_ Butch nodded, quite eager to speak on the topic. “It’s old school but for you, it’s great for building a fan base. Familiarize the money grubbers clientele with your advanced services and they’ll get attached to you real quick. Auto mechanics make a lot of money from call-in jobs. Of course, you might have to give up a weekend or few, but it’s worth the hustle.” _

_ “You had me at making a lot of money.”  _

_ He laughed.  _

_ From there on out, they continued to speak business. Buttercup took notes on her phone’s app as Butch ran through the basic startup moves. On the inside, however, Buttercup still felt high loyalty to the Morbucks or at least Prince for the opportunity at normalism. She would follow the instructions for extra money but unless the Morbucks gave her an immediate reason to leave, Buttercup was a loyal, hardworking employee gunning for that manager’s position and that was that. As for their love lives, well, they decided on just being  _ **_friends_ ** _. _

**_-End of Flashback-_ **

Outside, Buttercup approached the shiny, black Jaguar parked in front of the building. “Sorry for the wait, there was some drama on work,” Buttercup said as she hopped in, quickly securing her seatbelt. 

A spiky-haired Butch decked in office wear, casually shrugged. “Oh, you good?” he queried her innocence.

She met his gaze. “Yeah, it didn’t have anything to do with me.”

“Good, wouldn’t want you getting into trouble now,” Butch teased.

A scoff left her lips. “Oh please, compared to most, I’m the goodie two shoes of the building.” 

“ _ Mhm _ sure,” Butch snickered. “Plant one right here,” he gestured, leaning over to accept her lip-locking.

**_Friends_ ** that do that.

* * *

 

**_Work_ **

**_12:30 pm_ **

With a freshly sliced salad and coffee in hand, Blossom left the kitchen area on her way back to the office. She added some grapes for a burst of sweetness. The fatigue was still there but that couldn’t be helped after running on low energy three days in a row. She could sleep it off on the weekend, which thankfully was near. If Brick caught her dozing off on the job, she really might get this time around.

_ Sigh. _

On her return to a now empty office, but an opened laptop, Blossom took her seat, dismissing the occurrence as a short return. Brick mentioned nothing about leaving the office nor did his schedule cater for that. He probably went to see Mojo or something. 

_ Oh well... _

Savoring the peace and quiet, the pink puff aided her bodily cravings, until a knock was heard at the door, followed by its creak open.

“Hey Brick I brought the-!” Boomer immediately cut himself off at the lack thereof his brother's presence. 

Blossom, neutrally addressed him. “Brick might have stepped out for a short moment. You can put it on his desk, I'll inform him when he returns.” 

“Ok,” Boomer said, placing the documents on the table. By his flow of ease, he could tell that Blossom wasn't staring at him, she was just quietly eating her bowl of grass. 

“Hey Blossom,” he said, facing the puff. “I'm sorry about yesterday, I was wrong to snap at you. You didn't deserve that,” he properly apologized.

“Thank you,” was her simple yet polite response. It pleased her to see Boomer have the courage to convey a face to face apology. 

Seeing that Blossom didn't pry for more detail, Boomer nodded and made his way to the door when she spoke again. “I meant what I said about starting a friendship, Boomer.” 

Pink eyes locked on the frozen rowdyruff’s back. “But if that's not what you want, then that's ok too,” Blossom was sure to add, resuming the eating of her salad and took a sip of coffee.

Boomer turned to look at her again. Was she doing this out of pity or did Brick put her up to this? Either way, the puff was lacking her standard authoritative presence and it showed in more ways than one. “Are you ok, Blossom?” 

“I'm fine, why do you ask?” she politely asked of him.

“..You're….different now,” Boomer muttered in the sudden awkwardness of his question. Maybe he should’ve left it alone. 

Blossom arched a brow, curious but not trying to pressure him either. “Is that a good thing?” 

Boomer put an awkward hand behind his head, rubbing on his short fluffy hair. “I don't know….f-forget I brought it up,” he dismissed the question and went for the door but paused just under the frame, daring to eye her once again. “And by the way, your drawing gave me a fright,” he taunted and left the room.

Blossom put her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed in a snare. “Your welcome!” she shouted after him. How dare he insult her craft? Yeah sure, his was much better but she had won a prize for her drawings back in the fourth grade.

_ Hmmph! _

She munched on a piece of lettuce, checking her emails since Brick seemed to be taking a while. Lo and behold, there was an email from his address. 

_ On my laptop, there’s a word document in a folder titled x-classified project nine, fax it to Mojo ASAP.  _

“Aye aye, Bossman,” Blossom said to herself, postponing her salad eating for said task. Temporarily accessing Brick's laptop, she found the folder and sent the file to print. Once printed, the document went into the feeder, she put in Mojo’s code and waited as it scanned to send off.  

“There we go,” she commented, securing the original to place on Brick's desk. It wasn't any of her business to peek so she put it in a folder for some privacy.  

She went to his laptop again to close off the applications upon numerous open tabs. Clicking on each just to avoid accidentally exiting something important, that was until she came across a certain excel spreadsheet. 

“Wait just a second…..” 

Blossom went over to her assigned desk, reaching for the folder copy of their tasks this week and compared the three. The same schedule she was assigned for the week and the very much detailed one on his laptop was exactly the same! And it contained tasks of previous weeks and a few in place for next week.  Her copy of Brick’s current  _ “schedule of the week” _  was actually subtracted from last month’s! 

Blossom tightly clenched her fists, scowling at the red laptop before her.  _ Brick, you lying dog! _

The pink puff huffed with every step back to her seat, taking the irritation out on her bowl of salad with lethal bites. In some twisted way, she felt content that Brick believed in her abilities enough to ensure the completion of executive tasks. She’d still put less sugar in his coffee tomorrow though, serves him right.

* * *

 

**_2:30 pm Pokey Oaks Kindergarten_ **

Bubbles stood at the door bidding her various students a goodbye as their parents picked them up. The newly formed group of friends had sat together under the shady tree awaiting their parents to pick them up one by one. Sara’s mom came super early today so Bonnie got to meet her for the first time. She was a really pretty lady. She and Sara could be twins.

Imogen’s mom was really pretty too. She was darker skinned and had really curly, black hair just like Imogen but much longer and her eyes weren’t green, they were brown. 

Frank’s dad was next. He was really tall and buff with scruffy brown hair wearing red plaid, causing him to easily be mistaken for a Lumberjack. He seemed pretty nice and Frank said he looked up to his dad a lot. 

Bonnie and Tommy were the only ones left so they sat closer to where Miss Bubbles stood. They didn’t speak much to one another but the company was nice. 

A really pretty blonde lady in bright orange and khaki strolled down the walkway. “Thomas!” 

Both Tommy and Miss Bubbles released a weary sigh. 

“Mrs. Kelly,” Miss Bubbles formally greeted the woman. 

“Utonium,” she just barely greeted Miss Bubbles, immediately turning to Tommy. Bonnie observed as Tommy’s mother fawned over her son’s outfit. 

“Oh Thomas, you stayed all neat and tidy today. You look so adorable!” Lauren beamed to the frown-faced boy. 

“Can we please go home now?” he pleaded, not wanting to be embarrassed any further for the day. 

“Yes, yes, let’s go, son!” Lauren cheerfully said, offering her hand. 

“Goodbye, Miss Bubbles.” 

“Goodbye, Tommy!”

“Hey, Bon Bon!”

Bonnie loudly gasped, seeing her dad casually appear down the walkway. She ran over and jumped into his arms. “DAD!” she burst with excitement. “I thought you said you couldn’t pick me up today?!”

Brick kissed her cheek, snuggling his precious baby girl in his hold. “I did, but I finished work early, so we could watch Peppa Pig and eat lots of popcorn.”

“Yay!” Bonnie exclaimed, giggling in joy. 

“ _ B- _ Brick...Brick Jojo?” the voice of Tommy’s mother called her dad. Bonnie did her best to not frown to be respectful.

Brick faced brightly dressed blonde woman. “Yes, may I help you?”

“Lauren Kelly, corporate lawyer, it is so good to finally meet you!” she approached him with Tommy in tow. 

_ Lauren Kelly? _

Brick heard that name thrown around the grapevine before but this was their first legitimate encounter.

“Ah, so this is your daughter. She looks just like you!” she beamed. “Hello, dear! Are you friends with Thomas?” 

“Hi, yes  _ Tommy _ is my friend,” Bonnie returned her greeting, looking down at the scowling Tommy. 

“Hello,” Brick greeted the overly ecstatic woman. Her son didn’t seem so eager to chat with them but Bonnie acknowledged the boy as her friend, so for that reason, Brick would spare her a moment.

“That’s great!” she burst with joy, now glancing at her peeved looking son. “Geez, Tommy you really ought to introduce Mommy to your friends more!”

“Because you never ask…..” the boy muttered bitterly.

“Brick I had no idea our kids were this acquainted. What do you say to a Quik Koffee break? Our kids can play at the park just outside.”

Brick looked at Bonnie to get her thoughts on the matter. “What do you think, Bon? Sounds fun?”

She frowned but quickly followed up with a smile. “Um...ok, dad.”

“You sure?” Brick asked for reassurance. “We’ll still watch your favorite show and eat popcorn.”

“Ok!”

Brick nodded, facing Lauren again. “Alright, we can join you for a few.”

“Great! See you there, let’s go, Thomas,” Lauren said, walking off with her son.

She never asked the boy if he wanted to participate and quite frankly the child seemed more annoyed than anything else. 

_ Hmm. _

Brick walked over to Bubbles so Bonnie could bid her goodbye. 

“Hi, Brick,” she greeted him.

“Miss Utonium.”

“You can call me Bubbles ya know,” she biasedly teased, after encountering Lauren Kelly not once, but twice in one week.

“It’s how I pay my respect,” he replied, watching as Bonnie turned to her teacher.

“Of course it is,” she giggled, Brick was Brick after all. “I’m just hoping Lauren won’t rub off on you.”

“Oh?” Brick inquisitively scrunched his forehead.

“Goodbye, Miss Bubbles.”

“Goodbye, Bonnie. See you tomorrow!"

“She can be a handful is all, good luck!” Bubbles told him, clearly, had been eavesdropping on their conversation. She was a Powerpuff, why was he not surprised? 

Nodding, Brick left the schoolyard with his daughter, securing her in the front seat before he got in and drove down the street. “How was school today, Bon?” 

Bonnie idly looked out the window. “It was ok, dad.”

“Just ok?” asked Brick, knowing that was uncommon for her.

“ _ Mhm _ .”

“Why, did something happen?”

“Kind of.”

“What was it? Did you get in trouble?”

“Umm…,” she paused, thinking her words through. “It wasn’t me who got in trouble.”

“Oh, was it one of your friends?” 

“Yes.” 

“What did they do to get in trouble?”

“Umm.. _ h- _ he threw a crayon across the classroom,” Bonnie confessed.

“I see. He was wrong, Bon. He could’ve hit someone and get himself into even more trouble.”

“ _ I- _ I know, dad.”

“Is this friend by chance that Thomas boy?”

“His name is Tommy, dad,” she followed way too quickly, raising Brick’s suspicion.

“Oh ok. How did you become friends with him?”

Fidgeting with her fingers, Bonnie explained to her father that Tommy was the boy that bullied her on her first day of school and told him how the boy apologized to her. 

“I see…” Brick commented as he drove. That young lad sounded problematic but Bonnie had to learn how to deal with different types of people in the real world. For a five-year-old, that kid had a lot of anger built up, he couldn’t help but question Tommy’s broughtupcy. 

“Dad?” his daughter’s innocent voice reached his ears, softer than it’s usual pitch.

“Yes, Bonnie?”

“ _ W- _ What  _ d- _ do you want me to be when I grow up?” she fought off the butterflies in her stomach to ask her father.

Brick glanced at her sideways, taken aback at that question.“That’s not up for me to decide, Bon,” he kept a casual tone. “You can be whatever you want.”

Bonnie was fidgeting with seams of her clothing, avoiding his eye contact. “But  _ w- _ what  _ i- _ if you really wanted me to be something and  _ I- _ I  _ c- _ couldn’t do it.  _ W- _ Would you  _ h- _ hate  _ m- _ me?” her voice broke.

“Why would I do that, Bon?” Brick queried. “ Where is this coming from?”

“I….I um… I,” she stammered, unable to think of anything else.

“Bon?”

But promises weren’t meant to be broken even if she and Tommy weren’t that close.

_ *Sniff* *Sniff* _

“Bonnie?” 

_ *Sniff* _

“Bon Bon?”

_ *Sounds of soft crying* _

Brick looked over to see tears streaming down his daughters face. “Bonnie, what’s wrong?”

“ _ I- _ I  _ c- _ can’t tell  _ y- _ you,  _ d- _ dad!” she cried. “ _ I- _ I’ll  _ b- _ break  _ t- _ the  _ p- _ promise!”

Brick pulled over at the side of the street. He undid Bonnie’s seatbelt and pulled her over to sit in his lap, comforting the crying girl. “Bonnie, it’s okay. Please don’t cry.”

“ _ I- _ I I’m  _ s- _ sorry,  _ d- _ dad,” she hiccuped. “ _ B-B- _ But,  _ I- _ I  _ f- _ feel so  _ s- _ sad  _ f- _ for  _ T- _ Tommy!” 

Brick’s mouth thinned into a fine line, assembling the pieces of the problem together. “I understand.” 

“ _ Y- _ You d-do?”

“ _ Mhm. _ It’s ok to feel sad for a friend, Bonnie, but if that friend is seriously hurting on the inside, then it’s not ok to keep secrets about it. Because if something really bad were to happen, no one would know to save your friend in time. How would you feel if you got hurt and none of your friends got Miss Bubbles to help, just because you told them not to, even if you’re whimpering in pain?” his fatherly instincts kicked in.

Bonnie sniffled. “I would be sad...and angry.”

“See? So imagine how Tommy must feel? What if he’s so mean because he doesn’t know how to ask for help without getting in trouble?” he said, watching his daughter frown.

Bonnie buried her face in her dad’s shirt. 

“But what can I do, dad?” she begged him for advice.

“You’ve done enough by bringing it to my attention,” Brick said, gently rubbing her back. “Daddy will take it from here, ok?” 

“Ok, dad,” Bonnie replied in a sounder tone, looking up at him. 

“Good,” he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. He secured back in Bonnie seat and resumed route to the Quik Koffee. There was a bone to be picked with Mrs. Lauren Kelly.

* * *

 

**_Somewhere within the depths of Townsville….._ **

In a dark, hellish realm of a room, an androgynous, powerful, flamboyant lobster demon slouched in his soft, cushiony red chair as he took in the contents of various television screens. The pink tulle at the collar of his lady's red jacket brushed along the sides of his face, leather belt sinking into the lines of his stomach at the extension of a black, thigh-high boot. 

**_“UGH!”_ ** he complained, waving his foot around.

**_“ITS SOOOOO BORINGGGGG!”_ **

**_“What’s a demon to do when this city is all, joy, and peace and happiness….ITS MAKES ME SICKKKK!”_ **

**_“Oh…..,”_ ** HIM pulled his feet in, clutching them together in a fetal position. **_“But I promised to be good from now on...what was I thinking?”_ **

**_“Meh….”_ ** HIM turned over in his seat, allowing the televisions to appear one by one before him. After the birth of his granddaughter Bonnie, it was only natural for HIM to wish no harm to come to the child. So he acted accordingly, no summoning of monsters for the heck of it...in Townsville that is….when he felt like, he gave the police tips on the latest wrongdoings or aided the crooks in their escape depending on his mood of the day. 

Essentially, HIM was trying to be a good role model. One he never had, nor asked for in his hundred years of life. Unlike his half-sons, Bonnie was born pure to the bone. When he met her, she contained zero traces of evil, no opinions, no flaws, she was just….a baby...that slept and cried when in need of attention or food. He summoned toys for her to play with, watching Bonnie giggle and gurgle happily. Only when she got older, he taught her to use the powers she was born within combat range, nothing deathly but for self-defense. To imagine such a lifeforce grew from two vile vessels, too innocent to harm a fly. 

HIM wasn’t used to that sort of thing. 

**_“The feeling of love….BLEH!”_ **

**_“I AM EVIL!”_ ** HIM reminded himself, pouting like a naughty toddler. 

The television screens, one after the other bored him, each on display of substance he cared nothing of. So while his daughter was on the mind, HIM switched the channel to check on her. Brick was long overdue for a visit, sure HIM was an evil demon, but he possessed feelings too! 

**_“Oh?_ ** **”** HIM sprang up from his favorite chair, staring at the screen.  **_“What have we here?”_ ** he maliciously grinned, rubbing his claws together in anticipation.

* * *

 

Brick and Lauren bickered under the patio of Quik Koffee while Bonnie and Tommy sat by the sandbox, pretending to play. 

Tommy’s feet repeatedly stomped on the sand and Bonnie shifted uncomfortably as the grains slipped through her fingers. Tommy’s mother taunted her dad about being born better off and of course, made her dad really mad. When an argument started the people inside of the shop on bystanders kept looking around at the source of the commotion, adding to the children’s discomfort.

The words that flew out of Lauren’s mouth, saddened Bonnie. Now she understood, why the boy assumed she was rich. 

How disheartening…

“Someone like you would never understand the complexities of my childhood!” Lauren spat at Brick. “Destroying buildings, beating people up, stealing with no repercussions! How you haven’t been imprisoned for life is beyond me!”

“Complexities of your childhood?! I was born in the cesspool of a prison’s toilet, a talking monkey with an overly large brain claimed to be my father and sent me out to perform evil tasks to then be later adopted by a demon lobster! Is that your interpretation of a rich kid’s origins?! Your mother was a fucking narcissist and you were too jealous of your sister to stand up to your mother!” Brick threw back in her face, shoving back his seat. “So congratulations! You turned out just like her!” 

“DON’T. YOU. DARE!” she marched over to Brick’s face, “COMPARE. ME. TO. THAT. WOMAN!” 

“My children have faced nothing close, NOTHING! Compared to what my mother did to me, Brick! If only they were more-”

“YOUR. KIDS. AREN’T. YOU!” Brick roared, eyes glowering a menacing red, chest in a high heave. The entire environment went silent, only the flow of the wind dancing graced their ears.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Brick muttered and walked away from the foul woman. He scooped his daughter up from the sandbox. “Bonnie, we’re leaving.” 

“Bye, Tommy” she sadly waved him. 

“S-S-SO ARE WE!”  Lauren stammered. “THOMAS, LET’S GO!” she then commanded her son. 

“Bye…” Tommy briefly returned her wave before his mother dragged him off in the opposite direction.

Brick lifted his car door, placing Bonnie inside.“Bonnie never let anyone convince you that you can’t do something, ok? Not even me!” 

“Ok, dad,” she softly said to him.

“Do you promise?” Brick pressed for a secured answer. He knew Bonnie got sad when people argued around her but this was important.

“I promise, dad,” she said with more confidence this time.

“Good.” Brick kissed her forehead and shut the car door. He hopped inside and started a new conversation to rid the air of unwanted grief and sadness. “So Bon Bon, what episode of Peppa Pig do you think will show today?” 

“The one with the treasure hunt,” Bonnie swiftly replied. “It’s my favorite!”

**_On the flip side…._ **

Tommy sat quietly in the front seat on the way home. For the first time in some months, his mother didn’t force him to have a conversation concerning things he cared nothing about. So he guessed Bonnie’s dad blowing up at her was somewhat of a good thing but he would apologize to the girl tomorrow and make her promise to keep this between them. 

Lauren, on the other hand, stared straight ahead at the road in front, doing her best to keep a cool head. Brick knew nothing about her, in fact, he was a teen dad! What did he know about good parenting?! She was too well off to allow the hauntings of her past to resurface again, she was better now. 

“So much better now….” the idle mumble left her lips, memories flooding her brain again. **_  
  
_ **

_ On their family’s vacation to Hawaii, Lauren, her older sister Paige, and her parents visited a nearby beach for some fun in the sun. Her father planned to do a cookout for a more ‘tropical’ experience, starting a cooking station of wood surrounded by rocks and set a grill rack on top of it to heat up and cook the meat.   _

_ Lauren and Paige spread the large beach blanket and Mom opened up the beach chairs. Lauren set the bags on the blanket so it wouldn’t blow away then her and Dad set up the large beach umbrella.  _

_ “Girls, put on your sunscreen!”  _

_ “Okay!” _

_ “I can’t wait to go in the water, it looks so refreshing!” _

_ “All water is refreshing, stupid,” her sister sneered. _

_ “Hey! I’m not stupid!” _

_ “Oh Lauren stop,” her mom scoffed. “Get out the camera so we can take some pictures.” _

_ “Fine.” _

_ But she couldn’t find it in her bag. So she tried her sister’s bag and saw nothing either.  _

_ “I think I left it back at the cabin.” _

_ “No you didn’t, I looked for it yesterday,” her sister pompously said. “You forgot to pack it for the trip.” _

_ Her mother exasperatedly sighed. “Honestly Lauren, you’re good for nothing.” _

“MOM!” Tommy’s voice broke through her train of thought, hitting the breaks just before she could collide with another vehicle. Threw back into their seats, Lauren panted heavily, looking over at her son to make sure he was ok. 

He was startled but seemed fine otherwise. “I’m sorry, Thomas. It won’t happen again.” 

“Never ever again…..” she whispered to herself, sharpshooting her thoughts to the route home. When they arrived, she and Tommy left the vehicle and went inside. 

“Thomas.”

He rolled his eyes and took off his shoes. “Yeah, yeah, homework first.  _ I know _ ,” he said, walking straight up the stairs. 

Shaking her head, Lauren went to the kitchen to see her sixteen-year-old daughter Clarissa taking down a number of snacks from the cupboards above on a step ladder. She was home earlier than usual today, though it wasn’t surprising if the girl had ditched a class again.

“Why are you taking down so many snacks?”

“The band has a gig this weekend, remember? So I’m staying over to Julie’s,” said Clarissa.

“Oh, alright then,” Lauren dismissed the action, took a bottle of water and left the kitchen. 

Clarissa shook her head and continued taking as many items as she needed, stuffing them into a backpack.

Lauren went upstairs and immediately took a shower to rinse off yet another long, hard day at work. She loved her job, it brought her many difficulties but she got to solve them with her own vocal opinions and words. She met and married a loving husband, one that kissed the very ground she walked on and was a Police Lieutenant, together, a high income generating couple.

Her mother may not have foreseen Lauren a bright future, but her father surely did and in the end, when he died, she was still the one forced to financially accommodate her mom’s retirement home fees...that her sister placed the woman in. After all that favoritism, Paige still turned around and treat her mom like crap. Like mother, like daughter. 

Drying her hair with a mini towel, Lauren waltzed into her bedroom and selected a simple legging and top from the Chester draws. When she turned around, however, there was a small white envelope on the bed. 

Curious, she opened and skimmed through it:

**_The Runaway_ **

**_By Clarissa_ ** ~~**_Kelly_ ** ~~

_ I’ve been harboring these old meaningless words _

_ Just let me convey.....I owe you that much. _

_ I’m tired of caring what you think anymore _

_ Let me live for just this one moment in time. _

_ Your ship has sailed, yet you still hold me to undesirable standards... _

_ I’m not you..I’ve never been...not at birth..and most certainly not now.  _

_ So that’s why it’s goodbye. I can’t say you were worst mom in the world, I mean at least you still took care of me, I wasn’t hungry, you paid for the stuff I needed. In a sense, this only made it more difficult for me to accept your disappointment. Dad’s no better, he plays favorites too. There are tons of things that I would’ve liked you to be around for, to share with you as my mom...and hoped that somehow I could make you proud, that maybe you would love me more. Guess I’ll never know.  _

_ Tell the boys I’m sorry. This is the last I will ever disappoint either of you. _

_ I hope this does you for the better.  _

Lauren crumpled the paper and tossed it in her mini bin. This wasn’t the first time Clarissa had left her little poems around the house. Why that girl couldn’t pick up after herself, she understood not.

After moisturizing her hair and skin, Lauren slipped on her clothes and made her way down the staircase, passing Clarissa on the way down. 

Clarissa went into her room and put in a few more clothes in her bag just in case and other products she might need. This decision was a scary one but from the looks of it, her mother either didn’t see the letter or ignored it so there was no stopping her now. 

Zipping her bag up, Clarissa laid down on her soft bed for the last time, savoring its comfort. She reached for her golden, childhood bear and pet it softly on the head. 

“It’s been nice, Mr. Roosevelt, but this is goodbye,” she said, returning the bear to its spot.

**_“Clarissaaaaa,”_ ** the bear said her name and was flung straight out of the window in return. Breathing heavily, Clarissa looked through the window for the bear but it was gone. 

_ What the hell? _

**_“Now that wasn’t very nice,”_ ** a dark voice behind her spoke. Clarissa turned around to see her childhood bear, partially dripping with water, standing up on her bed with hands on its hips. 

_ “Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 3, coming soon! The PowerPunks will be in.


	5. Against All Odds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the weekend arrives, much drama unfolds for our beloved main characters but this is only the beginning...

_ Part 3: Against All Odds.  _

Regardless of your beginning, brighter days will come. Everyone, even the so-called scumbags and despicable people of the planet, possesses aspirations they desire to achieve and have groomed themselves to accommodate as such, even the Powerpunk girls... 

**_7:00 pm Citiesville_ **

Just outside of the Plutonium household, Brute Plutonium’s hands were clenched together, her lower body repeatedly descending to an ass to grass ratio, during her evening routine of a thousand non-powered squats, kept company by a large German Shepherd dog. The lean bodied brunette sported a running sneaker, all black shorts, and a sports bra, savoring the cool ecstasy of the evening time breeze. On her venture into adulthood, Brute daddled in new styles of spiky hair, switching over to a closed-cropped undercut with just enough hair on top for some playful spikes or flirtatious curls, depending on the occasion. 

The 22-year-old hustled two main jobs and a flexible side gig, a hip-hop dance instructor at Step Off Dance Studio during the day and on evenings to nightly periods by appointment, a physical fitness coach, helping civilians or superbeings alike not only achieve but to maintain a tight body throughout all seasons of the year. Then by call-in requests and through online advertising, she made good money off plumbing. Unlike her eldest sister, Brute showed no interest in college. It just wasn’t for her, however, money was a virtue and since The Oppressor wasn’t the most financially responsible ‘father’ at the time and since Mojo was her caregiver, Brute went to an affordable trade school just outside of Townsville and learned to plumb, also benefiting from dance classes at the nearby community center and the gym as a stress reliever. That monkey may have been fatherly, but she still had to reimburse him the school expenses, achieving that debt-free status at 21.

At the ages of twelve, the power punk girls, as they called themselves, grew bored of the mindless destruction and world domination bullshit, pre-teen instincts to just being girls that want to have fun kicking in. The Oppressor too, back then, seemed to grow bored of repeated incarceration for evil doings. You could only destroy so much until you have to wait for buildings to be remade again. Then you could only oppress and mentally fuck with citizens so much and expect them to turn around and welcome you with open arms for outside friendships. 

In factitious need of a new reality, the Plutonium family had made the big cross-dimensional move to Townsville on a contractual agreement with Mojo Jojo via HIM, for The Oppressor to aid the monkey in his corporate desires for domination of Townsville business sector. Together, the mad scientist and overly large brained monkey, banked in the profits through numerous investments, selling everything from advanced machinery to culinary arts. For the punk sisters, Townville and by circumstance, Citiesville, was much better than Vilestown. Sure, it was badgering with hero blah blah’s and biased superhuman laws but for once in their lives, the power punks were regular girls in a non-shitty ass city, with arguably less shitty people. Here, they learned to value the environment around them, develop proper bonds with others and not beat them up to get their way, even though power did go to their heads one too many times during high school years….

That was until, Oppressor decided this new way of living was too restrictive for his liking, forcing a return to Vilestown regardless of his daughters’ protesting opinions. Mojo Jojo had spoken up for them, offering to look after the punks in his absence and care for their needs. Oppressor agreed to the arrangement and left, leaving Mojo behind as their appointed legal guardian. So the monkey treated them as his own daughters and as a result, maintained the distance from his own sons, refusing the punks an opportunity to live under one united roof, and refused to budge at the suggestions to attend the same high school,  _ “forbidding” _ the formation of any romantic relationships between them. Didn’t that monkey understand that no distance nor rule,  _ in the entire world _ , could _ ever  _ prevent six, horny,  _ superhuman _ teenagers from screwing around?

“ _ Heh _ ,” the chuckle of fatigue and satisfaction, escaped Brute’s lips. Summoning some extra strength, the green power punk sprung up from her last squat, pacing off some of the muscle aches.

_ *Woof!* _

Buster, Brute’s pet dog cheered for her, rapidly wagging his tail. Flashing a smile, Brute pat his head, scruffing his fur all playfully.

“Come on boy, let’s get us some grub.”

_*Woof!*_

Walking over to the home’s entrance, Brute opened the door and together she and Buster went inside to the kitchen, straight past her sister Brat, who was setting up her equipment to film in the living room. The glamorous blonde in a poofy white off-shoulder top, denim shorts, gem-studded silver hoops and a fresh face of makeup, flipped her silky flat ironed hair over her shoulder, ensuring that her camera was fully functioning in sync with EOS app on the laptop to clearly see herself during the video and spoke for a mic sound check. Next, she turned on her lighting systems, two umbrella lights stand at the sides and the ring light in the center, camera already stationed on the attachment and ready to go. 

Placing a coaster on the table, Brat set a tall, chilly glass of her petty special, iced tea lemonade. 

Brat fluffed the cushion pillows in her background for an extra neat appeal, viewing herself one last time before sitting down and hit the button to record. 

Brat’s radiant smile bedazzled on the laptop screen. “Hey, what’s up, guys?! Thank you so much for tuning into yet another video! If you’re new to this channel, Hi, I’m Brat. Feel free to hit that subscribe button below to support ya girl!” 

“So today I’m back with another story time for you guys,” said Brat with a flip of her luxurious hair. “Now this scenario happened not too long ago and…” she exhaled a worn out sigh, clasping her hands together. “I've been  _ trying _ to be on this bigger person kumbaya but now it's been pissing me off.”

“Soooo I was chatting with this guy...let’s call him...uh,” Brat clicked her tongue. “Chad! Let’s call him, Chad!” she enthusiastically spoke. “So Chad and I met through a mutual friend of ours at a party last month and we hit it off, had fun, got drunk, a good ole wholesome time. I didn’t give out my number that night but I followed him on my personal Instagram just in case he turned out to be some creep and I didn’t want him blowing up my phone and shit like that. But anyway, Chad DM’d me the next morning like hey, I’m Chad, we were at that party last night and I was like yeah I remember wassup.”

“And he’s like cool I was just looking at your Instagram. Would you like to have breakfast with me at this hotel?” Brat told the camera, pausing to sip her drink. “I had three clients that morning so I asked if we could do lunch instead and he was like yeah whatever, lunch is cool.”

“So when we meet up at this hotel, it's all beautiful and he’s looking all fine. We sit chatting while waiting on the food to arrive but my boy was really dishing out the compliments,” she confessed, now imitating his voice. “He’s like you look so beautiful, those are the bluest eyes I've ever seen oh they’re natural?  _ Wowwww _ , your hair is so luscious.” Brat shot the camera a mischievous grin. “So you know already know I’m like,” she paused to flip her hair, batting her synthetic lash extensions with a cute smile to finish it all off. “Hahaha!”

Brat sipped her drink again, lips now pursed for the big tea discussion. “But ya see, Chad had a girlfriend on vacation at the time but wanted to get all cute and snuggly with moi,” she revealed, pointing thumbs at herself.

The sassy sister of the power punks group sustained an in-depth conversation for her followings later views tonight or whenever she got the chance to properly edit this weekend before her niece’s visit. Like her older sister Brute, Brat preferred to venture away from an academic centered career focus. During high school, she was an average student at best. If her eldest sister or Mojo nagged her enough to study, earning an A or B every now and then, but for a long time, Brat sought out to discover her one true calling. 

She was not born with advanced intelligence to easily pick up on stuff like Berserk nor was she a major handywoman and athletics freak like Brute. Luckily, during her final semester of Junior year, Brat came across Youtube videos of acrylic nail designs and makeup quickly falling in love with the genre of art. In those days, she worked in a clothing store at the mall for some extra cash and  spent it all on purchasing false nails, brushes, acrylic powders, and liquid, cheap makeup and would practice every day, even when her sisters would complain about the strong fumes of the acrylic liquid in the apartment, especially with a pregnant, moody Berserk.

So she practiced and practiced over at Mojo’s, sporting fresh designs every week with cute bursts of makeup until people started asking her for the hookup. Needing the space, Brat bargained with Mojo to use the wide open space of his previous laboratory after going all corporate and there, she ran her very own beauty salon.  

After graduating high school, Mojo gave her the option of beauty school but Brat figured she could do better all by herself and took numerous courses, advancing from beginner to professional within a year’s time. However, she couldn’t rely on the monkey forever and tried different ventures for money. She started her YouTube channel, Brattitude, on her smartphone in hopes of her charismatic charm and skills to rake in more customers and earn herself a check on the side.

But not only did it become time-consuming, but it ate up her cash too. The decision to leave it all behind for Citiesville didn’t help either.  Not wanting to increase her debts to Mojo, Brat went into stripping between the ages of 19 to 20 and made a lot of money, in fact enough to rent her own beauty salon in Citiesville and furnish it. Thankfully, at 21 Mojo Jojo gave each sister quite a generous lump sum of money for The Oppressor’s contribution to his current success but given that Berserk had not only taken the initiative to look for a house but purchased an actual home fit for all of them, together they furnished and maintained the bills. From there on out, Brat repaid her debt to Mojo and focused on developing her career, investing into various filming equipment for Youtube channel now at 700k subscribers.

“Who told this girl that she could get away with harassment?! She showed up at my salon running her mouth like Godzilla,  _ a- _ as if  _ I- _ I'm supposed to be scared of her,” Brat flabbergasted. 

“Let me tell y'all something,” she addressed the camera all bossy. “I am a very emotional person ok? I'm sensitive, not soft bitch, you'll still get knocked the fuck out if you cross me ok?! Brat is not the one, I will catch you outside!” 

“However,” Brat slurped her drink, slouching backward in her chair. “Moi is too booked and busy to be out here exterminating roaches, so I called the cops and they locked her ass up,” she confessed all nonchalant. “Now her ass keeps commenting trash under my Instagram posts on fake accounts and repeatedly tries to log into my Instagram. Girl, that is illegal, stealing your man ain't. If you’re so passionate about dedicating that much of your time to me instead of your man it’s no wonder why he been looking elsewhere. 

She paused, pointing her index finger upward, lips pursed. “As a matter of fact, I just might keep him warm and cozy for you ok hun? Your Welcome,” Brat said bearing a sickeningly sweet smile, then burst into scandalous laughter.

“So that’s it for today’s storytime video, let me know in the comments your thoughts on the girlfriends always checking the outside woman instead of their man, as always I’ll be sure to reply to as many as I possibly can. Again, thank you guys so much for watching, and I’ll see you in the next video, bye!”

“ _ Whew! _ ” Brat exhaled a breath of exhaustion, shutting off her camera. Funny how running her own mouth when worked up could be equally as tiring as a day full of clients. She made sure to save her recordings on the laptop and turn off her lighting systems before kicking back on the couch with the remaining contents of her drink. 

“I see you’ve finally stopped blabbering,” said Brute, reclaiming her rights to chill in the living room. She moved a light stand out of the way to not accidentally knock its huge umbrella attachment and sat next to her sister. 

Brat propped her legs on Brute’s lap, set her drink on the floor and laid her head on the couch rest. “I had built up anger.”

“No shit?” 

Brat scoffed at her sister’s sarcasm. “I just hope the bitch sees it because I refuse to be bothered any longer, petty maybe, but it's not that deep.” 

“Right,” Brute snorted. “Why were you recording here anyway? What’s wrong with your room?”

“It’s still a hot ass mess. I was supposed to clean up when I got in but I was due for a video so I put it off.” 

“Why not just clean it up? You know Bonnie’s coming over this weekend.”

“ _ Meh. _ Don’t go all Berserk on me,” Brat groaned, having had enough of her sister’s nagging this week. “I’ll clean up afterward.” 

“That’s what you said yesterday, and the day before that,” Brute snickered at the look of irritation Brat shot her. 

She rolled her eyes, glancing over at the analog clock on the wall. “Where is Berserk anyway? It’s almost 8 pm,” asked Brat, well knowing it was a routine of her sister’s to be home in time to call Bonnie before she went to bed. 

“Oh, she texted ten minutes ago. She made a last minute run to the supermarket after work to get supplies for the play park event on Sunday.” 

“Ah..,” Brat nodded in understanding, resting her eyes for a few moments, ignoring the sound of a vehicle pulling in the driveway.

“ _ Ahem _ .” Brute cleared her throat. “You might want to get started on that cleanup, sis,” she unintentionally nagged her younger sister, who laid lifelessly without a care in the world. Harboring sensitivity to Berserk’s feelings became a filthy habit of Brute over the years, ever since Brick grew hellbent on treating her sister like a disposal piece of garbage. 

“I said I’ll do it later…” Brat moaned, refusing to budge even when she clearly heard the opening and closing of the door. 

“Hey, girls,” Berserk, attired in her office wear, holding four plastic bags of groceries and one with a giant plushie, greeted her sisters. The former power punk leader’s dark pink eyes immediately narrowed at the recent additions to her living room. Brat only filmed there when her room was in a mess, meaning the girl had not yet cleaned her room as previously discussed. 

“Hey,” Brat muttered, sleepiness kicking in.

“Hey sis, how was work today?” Brute spoke in an attempt to nullify the elephant in the room.

Choosing to shake her head, Berserk slipped off her heels. “The usual, how about you with that pipe job?” 

“It was a simple installation, no big. Thanks for asking, I did a quick chicken breast marinara and pasta for dinner,” said Brute, sending a smile her way. 

“Great,” Berserk commented and walked off to the kitchen. Using her powers, she quickly packed away every item, setting aside Sunday’s goodies on the counter for easy retrieval. The scent of Brute’s chicken marinara invading her nostrils, turned Berserk’s stomach against her, churning in protest when she left the kitchen to have her nightly conversation with Bonnie.  

On the way to her bedroom, Berserk made a stop to the fourth bedroom in the house, a room she reserved just for her daughter Bonnie. Flickering on the lights, Berserk entered the baby pink-walled room, placing the dark pink elephant plushie on the magenta, cushioned, bed stool, finally completing the ultimate little girl’s room she envisioned all these years. 

From the flowers garden wall print to the pistachio green Chester drawers and the sky blue night lamp...Berserk basked in the comfort of her hard work paying off, walking about the room. Nothing about life as a teenage mother easy, not for a second but she made it work. This room, this house, her car, all proof that it was possible to get your act together. Not only did Berserk graduate high school, but she physically attended a community college in Citiesville on weekends, earning a bachelor’s degree in general management. From there Berserk continued to work under Mojo Jojo, her closest thing to a paternal figure after The Oppressor's disappearance. Given that her portion of inheritance largely went towards home, she and Mojo conjured a contractual agreement detailing a deduction from her salary until the school loans were paid off but little did he know, she had snagged a side job with the Morbucks and now only owed the monkey a month’s worth of salary. Not that Berserk couldn’t afford it, but to keep Mojo from growing suspicious of her financial sources.

Finally, as a mother, Berserk had the opportunity to share her newfound luxury, the life she worked enormously hard for, with her baby girl Bonnie. Smiling at the thought, Berserk whipped out her cell phone to FaceTime Bonnie when the left side of her daughter’s bed covers looked shoved in. 

Impossible. 

She cleaned and tidied this room twice a week, unless… 

Berserk’s forehead scrunched, eyes narrowing as she bent to lift the covers, revealing none other than Brat’s pair of stereos. Teeth now born in a snarl, Berserk yanked hold of one, marching out of her daughter's room to the staircase. 

“BRAT!” her voice shrieked from the upper level, interfering with the blonde’s nap. “What did I tell you about putting your things in Bonnie’s room?!” 

Moaning in distress, Brat air gestured her sister. “Chill out, I’ll move it.”

“You always say that, Brat! If you would just clean your goddamn room you would find space for all this shit!” Berserk screamed. 

“I said I'll move it!” Brat shot back in annoyance. 

“Then do it now, Brat! Bonnie will be here, tomorrow!” 

“ _ Urgh! _ All you’ve done this week is nag nag nag!” Brat screeched, irritably lifting her feet off a quiet Brute’s lap. “It’s not like she ever comes here anyway!” she snarled, jabbing at her sister’s weakness to shut her up.

But when the eerie silence met her ears, Brat shot up from the couch to apologize. “ _ W- _ Wait sis I didn’t mean to--”

**_THWACK!_ **

Berserk hit Brat dead in the face with her stereo, shutting herself in Bonnie’s room.

“OW!” Brat screamed, clutching half her face. One of her precious stereos laid broken on the carpet, jeering Brat on even more. “Berserk what the fuck?! This cost $276!” 

Brute crossed her arms, removing herself from the couch. “You deserved that.”  

“Oh, shut up!” she sneered, already having faced the repercussions for her words. 

From Bonnie’s bedroom to be, muffled sounds of sobbing could be heard just outside the door. 

_   
_ Berserk sat on Bonnie’s bed stool, wiping at her eyes in desperate attempt to fight off the waterworks. Deep down, she knew Brat didn’t mean what she said after all both her sisters voluntarily packed up and left Townsville beside her with very little complaint.    
  
But the fact of the matter was legal, Bonnie belonged to Brick. Two and a half years ago, Townsville, the city she had grown to love, deemed her an unfit mother, unworthy of raising her daughter as a single mother. That was their truth and it shattered her feelings. __   
  
It just wasn’t fair.    


Brick, her once loving boyfriend turned child father from hell, indefinitely dragged her through the mud in family court. Not in that belittling, condescending tone of his. Oh no, he was too much of a smart son of a primate to ever share hindsight on the petty parent he really was. In that professional spokesperson's voice he used to rehearse in the bathroom mirror however, Brick informed the judge of her unfaithfulness prior to Bonnie’s birth, her struggling adaptation to motherhood, aggressive outbursts which the judge dismissed as postpartum depression and all the ‘hardships’ he faced, working hard as a young parent to provide for all three of them.  
  
Bullshit.  
  
Throughout the entire course of her pregnancy, Brick resented her with a passion. She had to get Mojo involved for every doctor's appointment or else he wouldn't show up.   
  
When granted to move over at Mojo’s to make the best out of the situation, Brick constantly denied being the father of her baby when his smart ass knew, that as metahumans, his sperm was more likely to fertilize her egg than other civilian guys to sustain a full term pregnancy. If Berserk had a dollar for every derogatory slur spat from his mouth, she would’ve been richer than Mojo. No, but being a young parent was oh so hard on Brick as if being referred to as “the knocked-up girl” at her high school was all fun and games while no one at his school knew he was a father to be. In fact, the insults had gotten so bad, Berserk returned to the apartment with her sisters and completed her school work at home just to stay sane for the baby.   
  
Yet still after a gruesome birthing, Berserk allowed for Bonnie to inherit the Jojo family name, and just what did Brick do? Request a paternity test.   
  
Berserk swallowed her pride and granted approval in hopes of positive progressions between them. Moreover, on their second attempt at living together, it was just the two of them and Brick had managed to become even worse. While he continued to ‘provide for all three of them’ during College, not only did she stay at home to nurture her newborn daughter alone, but was also expected to maintain a clean condo at all times, cook, do laundry, sacrifice countless nights of sleep and god forbid Brick came home to meet her all dolled up to feel better about herself.  
  
Tired but fed up of the circumstances, Berserk pursued an education online and had it not been for her sister’s aid, she could have grown to seriously hate her own daughter out of stress. Bonnie cried day in day out, threw up on her clothes, she couldn’t get a decent night’s rest, her academics flunked, her breasts began to sag, she paraded around the condo in worn-out clothing attending to every wail and scream when all Brick did was come home and put his feet up, and for what? For Bonnie’s first words to be ‘dada’, for her to look just like Brick, not even inheriting her dark pink eyes, to always be on her best behavior whenever daddy was around.   
  
She knew Bonnie loved her too but it just made her so mad to see Brick prance around like the perfect parent, showering the same daughter he once constantly denied with tons of love and attention. What about her, huh? The woman he disrespected on a daily basis for breaking his heart just before he turned 17. Who was going to love her? Who was going to make her feel special?   
  
She was young and made an utterly stupid decision. The Brick Berserk had originally fallen in love with was a hopeless romantic under that bad boy exterior. She missed all his attention, the way Brick made it a priority to go behind Mojo’s back just to be with her. He stopped taking her out all of a sudden, he stopped dropping by after school, their lovemaking lessened and sometimes he went days without calling and if she brought it up, an argument started. They were both busy with school. Why did she have to accept that from him, when there were so many guys who were dying to date her?   
  
Berserk sniffled, rubbing her face on her sleeve. Unfortunately, her frustration led to a few undeserved snaps at Bonnie and physical attacks on Brick….so he planned to take her daughter away as punishment and the court let him because unlike her, Brick had a focused career and a job at the time. Ever since, she had to beg him just to spend time with Bonnie and fought her, if she were to show up unannounced. Berserk constantly had to push to be involved in her daughter’s life and as a mother, that haunted every fiber of her being.  
  
 _Brick just wants to see me suffer..._  
  
Berserk hugged the pink elephant plushie, clutching her phone again. She rang Bonnie’s number.  
  
* _Ring.*_ _  
_ _*Ring.*_  
  
“Don’t you worry Bon,” Berserk muttered to herself. “….Mommy’s gonna get you back…”  
  
She smiled sweetly for the camera on sight of her beloved daughter. “Hi, sweetie!”  
  
 __“Hi, mom!”

* * *

 

**_The next morning…..7:57 am_ **   
  


Brick, early as morning lamb, sat down at his desk awaiting the arrival of his Friday breakfast, freshly baked cinnamon rolls. He caught Blossom just before the puff could enter the elevator, handing over a tube of pre-made dough then sent her off for preparations. The sweet trickles of oooey gooey icing over the hot bun were just what Brick needed right now after yesterday’s unfortunate encounter. Lauren Kelly was a piece of work…. She managed to do what a solitary number of people in the world was capable of, getting under his skin. 

Brick’s face instinctively screwed up, eyes ablaze at his innocent laptop screen.

Maintaining a professional stance arguably was considered to be one of Brick’s strongest element in the business world, his hot-headed nature only triggering at the wrong flick of the tongue. Lauren, some bougie corporate lawyer he barely knew, far less cared about, left Brick indubitably baffled….indubitably! 

Brick had to plaster a pleasant demeanor in front of his daughter just to cheer her up. How could a woman, no scratch that, a parent, be so vile to their own children? And what pissed Brick off the most, Lauren had no problems speaking negatively about them to a person she had just met knowing her youngest son was playing within ear range.

Was she attempting to turn the boy against his siblings?

**_-Flashback-_ **

_ Brick and Lauren together with their kids sat at the table, sipping on a cold, milky coffee drink. Bonnie and Tommy each received a box of apple juice and a chocolate chip cookie as a small after-school treat before running off to play.  _

_ “So Brick, I’m sure you’re an incredibly busy man,” Lauren started the conversation. “What is it like being so young in fatherhood?” _

_ Brick took a sip of his drink. “It can be a challenge to maintain a balanced schedule but otherwise, my daughter’s happiness is worth it.”  _

_ He paused to look at Bonnie quietly eating her cookie. “How’s the cookie, Bon?” _

_ “It’s good, dad.” _

_ Lauren chuckled. “How cute. I must say I’m quite happy that our kids co-exist in the same environment. Sometimes I worry about the influence surrounding my Thomas at school. For such a highly recommended Kindergarten the other children aren’t as quite….,” she paused, teeth clenched as she made a face. “On par intellect wise.” _

_ At that peculiar tone, Tommy excused himself from the table. “I’m gonna play.” He looked over at Bonnie to join him and she nodded, leaving her seat. _

_ On par? _

_ Brick cast a skeptic brow. “They are kindergartners….” the blunt sentence escaped his lips.  _

_ “Yes, I’m quite aware of that but it is only natural for one to assume such costs cater for the academically advanced students unlike the various options in the city.” _

_ “I’m not sure if I’m following….are you having financial issues regarding your son’s education?” _

_ “Goodness no!” Lauren humored herself. “My Thomas is quite a gifted young boy so I was simply expecting the same of his classmates when I transferred him, it’s no real biggie just a mother’s uncanny expectations!” _

_ “Mhmm. So Tommy is ahead of the class.” _

_ “Oh, lightyears!” that snooty tone of hers peeked. “ Poor Utonium always has to outsource third-grade level for that brain of his.” _

_ “Do you always refer to his teacher that way?”  _

_ “It’s my brief address, her full name is certainly a,” she made a face again. “ …..Mouthful.” _

_ “Uh-huh.” Now he understood why Bubbles hinted at a change in greeting earlier.  _

_ “So tell me more about Bonnie. She’s new, how is she adjusting with the other students? Thomas told me she’s quite the sharp student.” _

_ “My daughter spent most of her time learning new information from her grandfather. As a result, she is a bit advanced but there haven’t been any complaints on either end. So all is good.” _

_ “That’s great! Look at that, now Tommy won’t have to feel all alone anymore. He’s already facing so much at home, I just wanted him to have a like-minded friend.” _

_ “What, may I ask, does he face at home?” _

_ Lauren casually sipped her drink. “You see, his siblings aren’t the finest tools in my shed,” she went on and on about her eldest and middle children. It was just like Bonnie said, Lauren sat there and told him just how much her teenage daughter got on her nerves for failing at school and apparently, trading in years of ballet and piano lessons to join, in her words, some demonic punk band. She held back not for the middle child either, almost as if she regretted his very existence. Her perfect mold for a son, shattered by an inability to play sports or engage in an outdoor activity, even though he was only eight years old….and required tutoring from a young age to excel, unlike her prodigy ‘Thomas’ who at five, not only exceeded her expectations but made them his own. The only drawback, his rebellious attitude.  _

_ She had the kid walking around acting as if he was better than his older siblings _

_ What kind of mother put their kids against each other like this? Shit, Mojo was a cruddy parent in the beginning and HIM, by no positive exception. But what they didn’t do was toss petty jabs of condescent to turn his brothers against each other for having different strengths. Brick was the best at academics, Butch was the best at almost every sport and outdoor activity there was and Boomer was a mix of both, having the best pictographic memory, capable of a sketching a landscape detail to detail after one journey.   _

_ Holding his tongue yet some more, he opted to question her desire for such complexity but when the woman started spewing woes about her childhood mistreatment and that her kids were lucky, Brick went off.   _

_ “You are the most arrogant, stuck-up, self-absorbed, narcissistic, piece of shit to ever have the rights to raise children.” _

**_-End of Flashback-_ **

“Brick?”

One could say Brick harbored a tinge of worry regarding Tommy and Bonnie’s friendship. The boy at least seemed to fight against his mother’s snobby mannerisms and Bonnie was fairly headstrong but still naive as any other five-year-old given the circumstance. 

“Are you ok?”

He just hoped that if Bonnie found herself in another mental state of conflict, that she would tell him and not let it egg on in an attempt to not make him angry at someone. Troubled at the possibility, Brick crossed his arms, eyes narrowing at the laptop. 

Standing just in front of him was Blossom holding a plate of two cinnamon rolls and a cup of coffee, annoyed at his silence. Her boss sat aimlessly in his chair staring at the laptop as if it was slow, but surely pissing him off. 

“BRICK!” she called him for the fifth time, watching his body flicker into reality.

“W-What?!” he snapped at his breakfast holding assistant, glaring at her very being. Blossom, on the other hand, looked calm, too calm, smug even for his liking. “Your breakfast,  _ sir. _ ”

It was then, the aroma of the oh so sweet cinnamon flooded his nostrils. “Right, my apologies,” said Brick, accepting the delightful breakfast. He sunk his teeth into the bun, mood uplifting upon every bite. 

“I expected a screw-up, good job Miss Utonium.”

“ _ Mhmm.  _ Your welcome,” she dismissed his little jab, not once removing herself from the frontal of his desk.

As Brick fingers curled around his coffee mug, he shot the puff a curious glance. “Do you need something, Miss Utonium?” 

“Nope,” she said politely. “ Not at all, Bossman.” 

“Alright…..” he weirdly commented, slurping the daunting caffeine. 

Blossom’s eyelids squinted in the slightest, lips pursed together as Brick made a face, smacking his lips in disgust but continued to drink caffeine after another bite of the sweet cinnamon roll.  _ Yeah...yeah that’s right. Drinkkkkkk the bitter coffee.  _

Brick eventually cast the liquid aside, unable to cope with the pungent taste. His eyes locked on Blossom for an explanation. “Why is my coffee so bitter?” he complained as would a whiny toddler. 

She cocked her head ever so slightly to the side. “We’re out of condensed milk.”

“And the sugar?”

“All done,” she lied to his face yet again, blinking innocently as he began to glare at her. Did she really expect him to believe that a 64 oz bottle of sugar finished after a single tray of cinnamon rolls? 

“Miss Utonium.”

“Yes, Brick.” 

“Do you have a problem with me?”

“No Brick,” was her polite, nonchalant response.

“Then I’ll ask you again,” said Brick, tone informal. “Why is my coffee so bitter?”

“Only you would declare three teaspoons of sugar in coffee as bitter, Brick.” 

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“It doesn’t?  _ Shame…… _ ..” Blossom smartly remarked, challenging him to edge her on even further but instead, Brick held out the mug towards her.

“Remake the coffee Miss Utonium,” he instructed, disregarding her intentions…. _ for now. _

“No,” Blossom stood her ground. 

“Excuse me?” he challenged her audacity.

“I said no.”

_ So that’s how it is, huh? _

“I see…” Brick said to himself, setting the coffee down and reached for his office phone. He hit some numbers and put the phone to his ear.“Hello, Security? There’s an unidentified woman in my office claiming to be my secretary. Come fetch her for me, thanks.”

“Brick!” Blossom worryingly shouted his name.

He moved the phone to his chest. _ “Remake. The. Coffee”  _ Brick sneered.

Blossom clenched her fists. “Why you!-”

Brick put the phone to his ear again. “Yes, and she just threatened to slit my throat.” 

“FINE!” Blossom harshly whispered. “I’ll re-make the coffee!” 

Brick hung up the phone, a playful smirk plastered on his lips as he held the coffee mug out to her yet again. 

Glaring, Blossom damn near yanked the thing away, almost forgetting the man was still her boss.  _ This has to be illegal! _

“This is extortion!” 

“Be back in five minutes or consider yourself fired, Miss Utonium,” Brick dismissed her claim, playfully shooing the hissing puff away. She was lucky it was Friday and to a personal extent, her good work ethics allowed him to spend more time with his daughter this week. So Blossom proved deserving of the casualties... _ for now. _

_ *Huff*  _

Blossom puffed her cheeks, holding the mug just below her chest. “Way to salt on my cucumbers, Brick.” 

_ Pfftt.  _

“I’m sorry, what?” he laughed. 

‘ _ W- _ Way to salt on your-  _ hahahahahahahaha! _ ” Brick guffawed, tossing his head back against the chair.

_ “Hahahahahahaha!”  _

_ “Hahahahaha!”  _ Brick continued to laugh, sending himself into a bit of a cough. “ _ O- _ Oh my god, you’re still a dork, red!” he continued to guffaw.

Blossom straightened her posture, a vivid memory resurfacing in her thoughts.

_ Red, huh? Been awhile since I’ve heard that one… _

**_-Flashback-_ **

_ It was the beginning of Sophomore year in high school. Teenagers sporting their back to school outfits flooded the hallways on the way to class. The rule-breaking mini skirts, crop tops, piercings, rainbow-colored hair, oh teenagers just loved to rebel. What was life without some glamour? Everyone who was everyone in the earlier 2000s wanted to be a sport the hottest trends, if not set them.  _

_ Even Buttercup, the tomboy puff of the sisters, made colored rim track pants a thing amongst girl last year and Bubbles rocked maxi dresses the term before. So to start the semester off, Blossom took Bubbles fashion advice to be a little more daring, as though sweater vests were not enough in this millennium of students. _

_ It took Blossom a few hours of clothes shopping but she found the perfect outfit….and on the first day back… _

_ The iconic threesome strolled sashayed the hallways. Buttercup on the right, sport her hair back with a muff, wore an Aeropostale green shirt and black, rock star jean with silver plated chains hanging from the sides and a matching green converse. A heaping color assortment of jelly bracelets on her right wrist and a green mood ring were her only accessories together with a green backpack. _

_ Bubbles to the left showed off her gorgeous hairdo, luscious curls and silver hoop earrings bouncing at every step. Decked out a long flowing, multiple blueprint chiffon dress, and white wedge heels. A white Baby Phat purse hung on her shoulders, together with a silver bff necklace and pendant charms on her left wrist. _

_ Then there was Blossom in the middle, long, freshly flat ironed hair, trimmed to her waist in a half pony. Backpack slung over her shoulder, she rocked a white, high waisted skinny jeans, with a pink turtle neck crop and a comfortable but low pink, wedge heel shoe. To accessorize, she kept it simple with a gold plated watch, a pink gemstone ring, gold stud earrings and of course, her signature red hair bow.  _

_ *Whistle*  _

_ “Looking good, Blossom.”  _

_ “Damnnnnnnn.”  _

_ Face flustered from all the attention she was getting, Blossom ignored the butterflies in her stomach, got her books and took her pretty little butt straight to her assigned classes for the new semester, parting ways with her sisters.  _

_ Walking into AP Statistics, Blossom was surprised to find Brick amongst the gather of students there, sitting just at the fourth row to the middle column of the classroom. She of all people, took immediate notice to his increased focus on academics over everything else, rivaling her top scores. Maybe he found a career he became passionate about? Was Mojo forcing him to chin up? Whatever the case, it was none of her business. Brick didn't even like her for the most part.  _

_ With her chin held high, Blossom took the closest available seating, one seat and a row in front of him and readied herself to learn. Soon the teacher came, and began his triple morning session, drilling their heads with logistics and calculations. Weirdly enough, Blossom found herself growing nauseous by the second, her stomach bloated, armpits and private regions felt...clammy but she dismissed it as minor until that jolt of pain in her tummy told her exactly what was up. Blossom shot her up from the chair, undoubtedly catching and sustaining Brick's attention for a rare moment. _

_ “Mr. Simon, may I please use the washrooms?!”  _

_ “Alright, Miss Utonium.”  _

_ On those words she scampered out of the classroom in pursuit of her locker, flashing her hall pass to the dean on the way. Not wanting to announce her period to the entire classroom, Blossom grabbed a pad from the back she kept in her locker and the mini shorts she brought for gymnastics, bolting to the girls’ washrooms in a flash of pink. _

_ “Please don't be bloody, please don't be bloody,” she repeated on shutting herself in the stall, eagerly unbuttoning her pants.  _

_ “Oh my, God!” Blossom exclaimed in a hushed whisper. Her underwear and the back of her pants were stained with period blood.  _

_ “Crap, crap, crap!” she complained at her dilemma. “I wasn't due for another week!”  _

_ “Urghhh!” Blossom groaned but slipped out of the bloody bottom pieces, profusely wiping her private regions with toilet paper until satisfied with her… ‘cleanliness.’  _

_ She had no other choice than to place a pad on her shorts and slip those on but then came her second predicament. Parading around the school in short-shorts was forbidden, her top now exposed her entire bloating region and her cellphone was in her backpack in the classroom!  _

_ “The one day I put unnecessary effort into my appearance turns around to be the worst day of my life!” Blossom whined, emotional tears brimming from the corner of her eyes.  _

_ “What do I do now?” she sobbed, pulling her legs up on the toilet seat. The sound of the washroom door opening ring in her ears. Maybe that girl could help her out. When she sprung up to open her stall however…. _

_ *Knock* *Knock*  _

_ “Hey Utonium, you in there?”  _

_ That was Brick's voice…. _

_ *Squeak!* _

_ No freaking way….. _

_ “That's you alright. Here put this on and don't complain, or I'll take it back,” he said, extending a hand with a pair of black track pants and a plastic bag over the stall. Desperate at the moment, Blossom accepted his offer, immediately slipping on the baggy bottoms. It sagged at the waist but still served a higher purpose. _

_ “U-Um,” she stammered, picking up her blood-stained clothing. “T-Thank you, B-Brick.”  _

_ “Don't mention it, Red,” she heard him say, footsteps heading for the door. “No seriously, don't mention this. Just wash it and give it back, tomorrow, I don't want disgusting blood all over it,” came his condescending tone.  _

_ Gratitude outweighing annoyance, Blossom emerged from the stall before he could leave. _

_ “Brick, wait!” she paused him in the motion of holding open the door, those fiery, crimson red eyes taking in her appearance in his clothing.  _

_ “W-Why are you helping me?”  _

_ He scoffed, turning to the door again. She couldn’t tell if he was hiding his face expression or cared not as per usual, but if so why come after her? “Ask me an easier question, Red,” spat Brick, leaving her all alone in the washroom.  _

_ Blossom blankly stared at the door for a few seconds, a cramp knocking her straight out of the subconscious state. She gritted her teeth and put her blood-stained clothes in the plastic bag Brick had brought, securely tying a knot. Blossom put it in her locker and returned to class, ignoring the small murmurs of her appearance and focused on the lesson at hand to the best of her abilities. It wasn’t that bad, Bubbles had gotten her a pair of underwear during lunch and people, for the most part, didn’t have much to say about her ‘non-prim and proper’ appearance. _

_ The next day, she walked up to Brick after school at his track practice and returned his pants, thanking him again for his help. He only downplayed the action and shooed her away, indefinitely returning to his dickish ways. _

**_-End of Flashback-_ **

Blossom watched as her headache of the day took breaths to recompose himself, adjusting his tie in the symbolism of a true professional. This wildcard of a man was also responsible for her inability to skip meals in his presence and in his own twisted way, extorted her without actually overworking her, instructing to not jeopardize health over tasks of the day.

_ Good God…. _

_ Butch was right….Brick is capable of being a kind person and since he's been so observant to be looking out for me then... _

She felt her lips curl into a soft smile. “One coffee coming right up, sir,” Blossom said and left the office.

_ Guess Brick has no intentions of firing me after all….so for whatever reason he is choosing to keep me around, I accept. _

* * *

 

**_Somewhere within the darkest depths of Townsville………_ **

Frightened pants of breath lingered in the dim lighted encompassing. The stone colored walls in this….place….like every other cream curtain separated each room, bore no decorations and the floors, it's the black swirling pattern messed with the brain's ability to decipher movement. Thought hallucinations were bad? Try walking without fear of being sucked deep inside, that eerie laughter in your ear, fighting against gravity's density if you made the mistake of standing in one spot for ten seconds. The only exceptions, the furniture, and the bathroom.

Buttocks irremovable from the black, worn out, sponge guts spilling single couch, sat Clarissa Kelly, heart threatening to burst through her chest. To the opposite, the googly eyes of Mr. Roosevelt stared into her soul, her once loving and inanimate, childhood teddybear quietly swayed on a rocking chair. 

Whatever supernatural monstrosity possessed his cotton stuffed body, abducted Clarissa in all her privilege to this...passable excuse for a decent home. Sure she was going to run away but even she possessed millennial living standards. There was no wifi, her cell phone was taken away, the kitchen contained a few basics to get by and some supplies appeared out of the blue to clean the bathroom to use it. 

What surprised Clarissa the most, Mr. Roosevelt prepared a simple breakfast of toast and eggs for her breakfast this morning. No kidding, he even picked up the shaker of salt with his paws to season the disgusting, runny eggs he made, before insisting on this being her very last meal had she not chewed and swallowed every single bite.

But why? What was the point of this? Clarissa was too frightened to ask. Swallowing down a thick lump of bile, the girl's lips trembled, forcing the fleshy pouts to open.

_ Creak. _

The rocking chair stopped moving. Clarissa knew not whether that was a sign of desisting or encouragement so for the sake of regaling her bravery, she tried again.

“ _ Aaaaaah! _ ” 

She shrieked. Mr. Roosevelt had sprung onto her shaking lap, mocking her fear with his scoots for comfort. 

_ Breathe Clarissa, Breathe, _ she told herself, chest heaving high and low, fingers strangling the couch rest. _ It's ok, you're fine, you're fine. _

Whilst repeating the words of self-encouragement, Mr. Roosevelt's head looked up at her. 

“ **_Clarissaaaaaa….._ ** ”

“ _ Aaah! _ ” She couldn't help but shriek again.

“ **_It is time for class_ ** ,” he said, the couch suddenly zooming over to a corner of the room, where an ancient Windows 98 desktop appeared. 

_ W-What?... _

Its pitch screen turned on, white colored computer language vertically popped up, shortly disappearing as the old Windows logo and default monitor background settled in, the software apps neatly arranged at the left-hand corner. 

Lost for words Clarissa looked down at the ugly, bulky, beige colored keyboard, perfectly clean and free of dust. 

Before a word could escape her lips, the computer desk extended, a notebook, pen, pencil, geometry set, calculator, eraser and weirdly enough, a bottle of water presented itself to her. 

“Good Morning class, I trust everyone has completed the algebra homework,” the voice of her grumpy math teacher echoed throughout the room.

Clarissa gasped. 

On the screen was her morning algebra class being recorded, her friends, all its students sitting down as the grouch began to write on the whiteboard. 

“ _ I- _ I  _ c- _ can’t... _ h- _ how..” 

“ **_Now Clarissa, education is important. We can't have you missing out on such a vital element now can we?”_ ** Mr. Roosevelt eerily slurred. “ **_SO SHUT UP AND PAY ATTENTION!”_ **

She jumped nodding furiously, eyes darting to the screen. Hands trembling, Clarissa made use of her given materials, doing her absolute best to swallow the fear turned tears of humiliation, when she could not follow along with the rest of her class in the solving of equations in the presence of a dark entity was threatening her very survival. 

_ *Sniff* *Sniff*  _

What would happen to her?

_ *Sniff* *Sniff*  _

_ *Hiccup* _

As the hour went by….HIM, comfortably slouched in his favorite chair, microphone on his stomach, yawned at the floating screen. For the love of everything evil, mathematics was soooo boring, it was perfect! Naughty teenagers still needed education and for the record, he couldn’t care less about Clarissa wanting to run away. Teenagers were naive and worshipped rebellion as an exploitable form of freedom before crawling back to mommy and daddy when the reality sunk in.  _ Meh. _ The real fun to come, HIM’s sought out entertainment, is the anguish of Lauren Kelly. 

Stone-hearted, prideful types became his favorite indulgence over the years. The people who possessed such high standards of morality looking down on their fellow man. Oh, how they withered away to ashes at the smallest hint of instability. Fun, fun, FUN!

HIM bitterly smacked his lips. 

However, that same personality type could take a week or two to crack, especially since Lauren claimed to unrealistically let Clarissa do as she pleases after deeming the girl as a lost cause. 

“ **_How cold_ ** ,” HIM grinned to himself soon dropping the humorous facade. Perhaps if he had taken Tommy the result would be much much faster but less exhilarating. What was he supposed to do with a teenager until then? Dispose of her?

**_Hmm._ **

That could indirectly affect his granddaughter, not that he cared about the Tommy boy but they were friends. It was inevitable. 

Giving the girl back was also another option...but what kind of stale outcome was that? I took your kid, now suffer, ok that’s enough, here ya go? 

“ **_Oh, that sounds incredibly underwhelming!_ ** ” HIM complained aloud, catching sight of the screen again. 

The girl’s crybaby sobbing was dripping all over the fur of his stuffed minion. “ **_Gross._ ** ”

He flicked on the microphone. “ **_Clarissa,_ ** ” HIM said to the girl, the head of ‘Mr. Roosevelt’ looking up at the girl. “ **_Is there a reason why you insist on DRENCHING MY VOLUMINOUS FUR WITH YOUR TREACHEROUS WATERWORKS?!_ ** ”

The girl yelped at his tone, sobbing even harder. 

“ **_Oh for the love of…_ ** ” HIM complained, summoning a box of tissues and used the bear to pat her face dry. 

Clarissa gaped in surprise, falling into another fit of the hiccups. Mr. Roosevelt then opened the bottle of water and held it out to her, watching as she drank until they were gone. 

“ **_Better?_ ** ” he questioned her current state. 

Clarissa nodded her head.

“ **_Good,_ ** ” replied Mr. Roosevelt, now looking down at her notebook. His dark-brown stitched eyebrows knitted together, there were so many different math centered equations and even the simplest of the bunch were incorrect. “ **_None of these equations are correct. How on earth did you come up with these answers?!_ ** ” he criticized her intellect, watching as her lip quivered, eyes glinting, threatening to once again, spill with tears. 

Mr. Roosevelt shook his head. “ **_Gosh, you are sixteen years old, Clarissa. If you needed help, open your mouth and say so_ ** ,” he chastised her, a pair of glasses over his googly eyes and a textbook appeared between his paws, skimming through the pages. 

“ _ Y- _ You.. _ y- _ you’re gonna  _ h- _ help  _ m- _ me?” Clarissa timidly croaked, throat sore.

“ **_Obviously, I can’t let you sit here and sob your way out of an education_ ** ,” he answered with a scoff, pausing on a page. “ **_Here we are, factoring algebraic expressions_ ** .” 

Mr. Roosevelt addressed her again. “ **_Now listen up, factoring in math is simply setting apart numbers that can be multiplied together to restore find its original number. Remember your multiplication tables?_ ** ” he watched her timidly nod her head before continuing. “ **_It’s the same concept,_ ** ” HIM began his tutoring, shutting off the projection of Clarissa’s teacher on the computer screen.

* * *

 

**_Recess At Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…..._ **

“Oh no, it’s the bad guys!”

“Jen, look out!”

“Get em, rangers!”

Bubbles sat at her desk, lightly monitoring her students while getting a head start on their work preparations for the upcoming week. Today, she treated all her students to a batch of her infamous vegan, chocolatey, black bean brownies. It melted her heart seeing the children gobble it all up, eyes glued to television screen after an excellent morning’s spelling bee.

Oh, how they made her such a proud teacher.  

_ “Rangers ready, Time for Time Force!” _

“Yaaaaaaay!” the class of kindergartners cheered at the television screen, continuing to munch on brownies and their individual snacks. The newly bonded group of Bonnie, Sara, Imogen, Tommy, and Frank all sat together in the middle, watching the Power Rangers kick some serious bad guy butt. Although, Tommy bore a few unsettling choices of words regarding the “ _ action-packed _ ” show. The five-year-old boy resumed in his usual darkly colored attire, did his best to bottle all up his negative opinions knowing that Frank, his best friend loved the crap out of the show but right now, this… “ _ fight sequence _ ” was driving him bonkers.

Those weapons were so…. _ lame _ . Where were the awfully sharp blades? The blood? The brutal violence?

_ Ugh! _

He couldn’t take it anymore, sorry Frank.

“This show is soo _lameeeee_!” Tommy complained to the entire classroom, triggering the other students, including Sara.

“No, it isn’t!” his classmate, Marie, shot back. 

“Yes, it is!” 

“No, it's not!” Sara chimed in. 

“YES, it is!” Tommy professed and marched up to the television screen, pointing a finger at the multiple holes filled “ _ deadly weapon _ ” of the villains. “ _ L- _ Look, look at the sword!” he whined. “My mom has one to drain the pasta!”  

“ _ Hahahahahahaha! _ ” some of the kids, Bubbles included cracked up at Tommy’s joke. 

“I want to see some real action, real violence!” spat Tommy. “Not this staged crap!”

Standing up from her desk, Bubbles shook her head.  _ Better step in before this gets out of hand. _

Sara put her hands on her hips. “But that’s for grown-ups!”

“No, it isn’t! My sister’s a teenager and she watches anime!” Tommy shot back.

“But she’s still way older than us,” Imogen added while Bonnie nodded in agreement.

_ Humph! _

“So?!” Tommy sneered. “I want to see real superheroes in action so I can grow up to be just like them!”

“But you can’t do that Tommy,” Bonnie joined the conversation.

“Yeah? Well, why can’t he?!” came Frank in his best friend’s defense.

“Because you need powers, duh!” Sara shoved the powerless reminder in his face.

“No, I don’t!” spat Tommy.

“Yes, you do!”

“ _Nuh-Uh_! Batman doesn’t have any powers!”

Bonnie put a hand on her hip, holding the other out for rationalization. “Yeah but he’s Batman...and you're,” Bonnie paused to find the right words, ultimately pointing at the boy. “……. _ Y- _ You!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“A lot!” was Sara’s condescending remark.

_Humph_! Tommy tossed his arms into a fold. “ I’m gonna train hard and be a superhero just like Batman and no one’s gonna stop me!”

“But--”

“No-one! I can be a great superhero too, right Miss Bubbles?!” Tommy abruptly turned the direction in the room to his teacher, who just placed a chair behind the sitting kids. Those brown pools of determination bore into baby blue, fists squeezed in anticipation of her honesty. Miss Bubbles wouldn’t lie to him, he was sure of it! 

A gentle curve framed her lips. “Of course you can Tommy, everyone can be a hero, even a super one.”

“See, I told ya!” Tommy mocked his peers.

“Really, Miss Bubbles?!’ an excited Frank ran up to her, smiling brightly.

“Yes, of course,” said Bubbles, allowing the children to bask in their creative imaginations.

“Coooooooool!” beamed her other students. 

“I want to be a hero too!” a kid named Kenna confessed to the classroom, followed by several others.

“And me!”

“Me too! I wanna run fast like The Flash!”

“And! I want to get a cool ring like Green Lantern!”

“But you have to be chosen to be one of the Lantern Corps,” Imogen informed her classmates.

“What does he need to be chosen?”

“Well according to my scrapbook.....”

Bubbles couldn’t but to giggle at her students. Their innocence and admiration for heroes and superheroes alike resurfaced many memories from the glory days. Though heroism may not have always been what it is cracked up to be, the very essence of it all shaped her childhood and impacted on the lives of people around the world. She watched as Imogen finished her rather detailed explanation of the Lantern Corps, the rounded mouth expressions of shock and eagerness lighting up the kids’ faces.

“That’s easy, I can do that!”

“Yeah!”

“Piece of cake!”

Sara threw her arms in the air. “You guys, don’t feed into Tommy’s crazy!”

“Hey!” he defensively retaliated but Frank just walked up to Sara, placing an arm around her shoulder.

“Oh cmon, you control the dirt, don't you want to be a superhero too?” ” he playfully stated the obvious. “ You know you wanna…..” Frank teased.

Sara huffed, turning her head away. “I don’t need to, my uncle Geo-Force keeps us all safe!”

“No, he doesn’t,” Tommy scoffed. “Superman does!”

“My uncle’s just as good as Superman!” 

“No way!”

“Yes, way!”

And just like that, an argument broke out amongst the class of Kindergartners, all too busy talking over one another to remember they were watching Power Rangers. So to restore the peace in her classroom, Bubbles figured a story time was due.

“Now, now settle down kids!” Miss Bubbles spoke over their clashing voices, allowing the chattering to die down. “You love superheroes huh? Let me tell you a few stories from my superhero days!”

“Really, Miss Bubbles?! You were a superhero?!” Bonnie exclaimed in awe. Who would think a sweet and bubbly teacher like her used to fight crime and save the world.

“Uh-huh,” she sweetly replied.

“Yeah, Miss Bubbles was a Powerpuff girl ya know!” beamed Imogen.

“Cooooool!”

“Let’s hear the story Miss Bubbles!” 

“Yeah!”

Smiling as the children huddled around her, Bubbles sat them down, beginning the precious tales of her childhood memories, the glory days.

* * *

 

**_11:00 am Mechanix…_ **

In the employees' abandoned loungeroom in the wash bay area, Buttercup and Elmer sat down having an early day’s lunch of the S’glue family’s traditional chicken Ceaser sub sandwiches, passed down from generation to generation. Usually, Buttercup’s Friday included catching a midday beer with the few closest to her at work or now that Butch was back in her life, run off on lunchtime adventures, but this just wasn’t the day for any of that. 

In overalls, Buttercup bit into the sandwich, ears listening to the vibrations around her. She knew yesterday’s spur of drama fell on the hefty side and that blame would get thrown about, but she certainly was mentally ill-prepared for this morning’s blow out. Cassidy, her and to a lesser extent, Elmer’s friend, received a letter of termination by human resources after signing in for work. Unfair as it was, Buttercup wasn’t sure if tossing the letter back in their faces was the appropriate response. Would she have done it at the moment? Probably, but this was no ordinary declaration of battle, this meant war. If Prince deemed you as fired, that was it, there was no coming back, employees came and disappeared time after time from screwups, every Mechanix employee understood that. 

So did Cassidy really want to challenge Prince and the entire Morbucks clan? Sure the girl had a point, Prince gave her instruction and she listened but as Prince said to her, common sense or any type of working knowledge should alarm in your head that using someone’s credit card number without proper notification was illegal! It was her job as a sales employee, to contact that client, regardless of Prince’s words. No boss was going to stand there and give specifics to a job an employee had been doing for the past two years. 

Oh, boy, was Prince livid, Cassidy had threatened to take the case to court and trade unions alike on claims of unfair dismissal with evidence and witnesses securing her win. The second those words left her lips, people got dumb. The sales department employees suddenly couldn’t remember Prince addressing Cassidy at all, claiming to be too pre-occupied in their own duties, Elmer included. However, the platinum blonde eyes and ears usually heard what pertained to him in times of stress, so Buttercup knew it was not a personal jab towards their friend, though Cassidy did not see it that way. 

That was the first reason for eating in this deemed storage room. Now for the second reason, Cassidy came venting to Buttercup about her already gossiped issues for peace of mind until remembering that the green puff was present when Prince gave that particular instruction, asking to join her in court as the witness with claims of Prince caving in if it's her on the stand. 

Pause. 

No really, Cassidy, her friend, someone she actually gave a damn about in this building, fluttered the favoritism flag in her face and worst yet, a sexual affair with her boss. Unfortunately for the likes of Cassidy, pettiness got the better of Buttercup.

**_-Flashback-_ **

_ In the middle of a tire patch job, Buttercup pulled a stool at the corner of the garage, listening as Cassidy rambled on and on about Prince’s wrongful termination and the betrayal from her ‘friends’ on the second floor. _

_ “I can’t believe those assholes! I’ve worked my ass off for two years! Two years! Following the orders of that jackass, making sure he stayed rich while my poor ass who lives a one bedroom condo on the outskirts of town AND takes the BUS to work each day and he fires me for doing exactly as he said? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Cassidy screeched, disturbing the other mechanics.  _

_ Buttercup sighed, standing up from her stool. “Look, Cass, I know you’re upset and you have every right to be but the rest of us still have tasks to get done. You can’t disrupt the entire workday.” _

_ “So you’re saying I should just shut up and take this? Really Buttercup?!” _

_ “No,” she sighed again. “All I’m saying is interrupting the others won’t help your right now. You said the letter detailed payment for tasks accomplished within this month if I were you, I’d work today and get even more money out of him, there must be something on your desk you can use.” Wait, did I just encourage this? Crap, crap. _

_ “Ohhh, true true. That’s a good idea now that I think about it.” _

_ “Y-Yeah, well cool, I got gotta finish this patch job,” said Buttercup in attempt to leave but Cassidy placed a hand on her shoulder. “Wait! You were there right? When Prince said those words to me, you can be my witness in court!” _

_ Shit, shit. _

_ “Sorry Cass,” Buttercup awkwardly said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I was just standing outside the door. I wasn’t paying attention.” _

_ Her eyes narrowed. “The girl with ultrasonic hearing used to spy on that client yesterday, wasn’t paying attention?” _

_ See this is why she did her best to stay clear of drama on work. Someone always had some shit to say.  _

_ “So? My job was actually done if I want to listen in on a NON-HUSHED argument, I can.” _

_ “But wasn’t when Prince told me to charge that card.” _

_ “That’s different.” _

_ “How is it different? I know you heard him, you just don’t want to admit it, why? I thought we were friends?” she pushed the argument. What did that have to do with anything? _

_ “We are friends, Cass,” Buttercup explained herself. “But don’t expect me to know everything that goes on around here just because I have powers. I thought you knew better than that.” _

_ “I never said you had to know about all the shit that goes on in this building. What am I’m telling you is I know you were there when Prince gave his instruction, so you would know the truth and as my friend, knowing that truth, you should come to court and aid me on the stand.” _

_ “Look, Cass….” Buttercup ineptly trailed off, unsure of how to break the words to her friend without offending her. She worked too damn hard at this job to possibly ruin her reputation with the Morbucks by participating in a court case that was in no way relevant to her. _

_ “Oh,” Cassidy uttered in disbelief, taking a step back. “So that’s how it is. You, my good friend, like all the other people on the second floor are turning on me too.” _

_ “Cass-” _

_ “That’s your truth isn’t it Buttercup? You don’t want to help me, you only care about yourself and this pathetic job!” _

_ “Wait wait, let’s not go there-” _

_ “No, let’s go there!” Cassidy got in her face. “ Because I’m pretty sure you,” she poked Buttercup in the chest. “Of all people, wouldn't want alrighty Prince gunning for your tail.” _

_ “What?” she tirelessly commented. _

_ “What?” Cassidy mocked her. “ As a matter of fact why where you there in the first place huh? Prince invite you out to lunch again?” _

_ Oh her nerves were really being tried now. “I don’t see how that-” _

_ “Of course you don’t see it! “ Cassidy cackled as if it was the funniest thing alive. “Everyone's been talking about it!” Cassidy bragged. Was this her friend or secret enemy?  _

_ “If I didn’t know any better,” she started with a twirl of her long brown hair. “ I’d insinuate that you’ve been sleeping with the boss,” she looked her up and down. “Though it’s not beneath you.” _

**_SMACK!_ **

_ Cassidy gasped, clutching her face. “D-Did you just! Are you crazy?!” she boomed loud enough to secure more than enough attention on them both. _

_ “Do you hear yourself right now?! Cassidy, you accused me of the very thing that you know I can’t stand. You! My “friend” she air quoted, shoving Cassidy back a few steps. “Accused me, the one who has spent countless hours in training, given up several nights in overtime, the same person whom you watched finish the workload of lazy ass people with not a cent extra added to my paycheck on the very same days you were like,” and she put on her best mocking voice. “Buttercup like, this is so unfair. They need to do their jobs, Prince always lets them take advantage of you. Prince should like, step up and shorten their pay or something. Like, oh my God, so unfair.”  _

_ “Pffffft!” sniggered the onlooking workers. _

_ “And then accuse of me of bullshit because you’re incompetence, yes your idiocy, lack of common sense, lackluster brain cells,” she seasoned the pot. “Thought it was a good idea to commit an act beyond your authority and for what? The gourmet salad from Olive Garden’s menu? T-That was more important than your job?” _

_ “Hahahaha!” laughed a handful of workers amongst the smirks of others. _

_ Hmm. “Take your shit and ownnnn it,” Buttercup shoved Cassidy backward by the head. Fuck this friendship. _

_ “Get the fuck out of this garage, stop bothering us actual hard working, job secured employees, pack your shit, turn in your ID and good luck getting a lawyer brave enough to tackle the Morbucks in court,” Buttercup roasted her and turned to walk away. “Goodbye!”  _

_ “OOooooooo!” _

**_-End of Flashback-_ **

Buttercup wasn’t proud of the way she spoke to someone she once called a friend but it wasn’t like her to participate in an ongoing roast session with the other employees, those who didn’t give a shit about her on someone that she at a period in time, gave a shit about. People were so two-faced, Buttercup couldn’t stand it. Now knowing what the other employees really thought about her, Buttercup couldn’t just be accepting Prince’s lunch outings all willy nilly. Well, in fact, she could and not give a damn, but why risk so much for Prince when she had Butch? 

Buttercup sighed aloud. All of this proved easier said than done. How would it look if she began declining all his invitations? People were so quick to assume a positive boss and female employee relationship meant they were screwing! Prince wasn’t like that and now that she feels weird about it, he might think she's hiding something or avoiding him even. 

_ Sigh.  _

_ To be going through all of this and on top of it all, still, felt guilty for not sticking up for a friend. What was she supposed to do? Risk her job for someone else's dumb mistake? _

She sighed again.  _ Man, this sucks….. _

“Are you alright, Buttercup?” came Elmer’s concerned question.

“Yeah, why?” 

“This is the fifth time you've sighed since biting into your sandwich.” 

“It is that obvious, huh?” she joked. “I just hate to be in situations I didn't ask for, is all.” 

“I see...for the record, not everyone thinks you've been promiscuous, I don't and a lot of people on my floor don't think that either,” Elmer reassured his friend. “The ones running their mouth are all jealous of you.” 

“That's what I'd like to think,” Buttercup bit into her sandwich, chewing and swallowing before speaking again. “I work too hard for my efforts to be looked over for bullshit, I'm not even the prettiest girl here. Have you seen his assistant, she's gorgeous!” 

“And artificial.” 

“Regardless, if Prince wanted to fuck someone, he got better options than me,” Buttercup voiced her thoughts, not that she felt inferior but the truth was the truth.

Elmer pouted at her choice in words. “I wouldn't be too sure of that, Buttercup…..” Had he not been in a committed relationship, boy, the competition to be her suitor... 

“You're my friend, you feel compelled to say stuff like that,” she denied the pitied compliment.

_ Hmm. _ Elmer bit into his sandwich, chewing in the awkward silence. “So...are you gonna say anything to Prince?” 

“I'm no snitch.” 

Elmer rolled his eyes, he hated the snitch mentality of his generation. Just what was wrong with voicing your discomforts? It was like people felt more inclined to protect bullies than get justice. “No, I meant about him asking you out to lunch.” 

“Oh,” she said, thinking for a few seconds. “I'm not sure, I don't want to sound ungrateful, hell it saves money,” Buttercup joked. 

“I bet, it's not every day you get pickled zucchini and sundried tomatoes on a burger,” Elmer laughed, watching the smile slither across Buttercup’s face. 

“Right?! I let him pick the burger shop and he takes us to this exquisite food joint downtown. I never knew what sauerkraut was until that chef put it on my bacon,” she laughed. 

“Rich people,” Elmer shook his head.

“Hahaha,” she cracked up, the two friends finishing up their sandwiches. They cracked open some bottles of water and laid back to let digestion run its course. 

Buttercup whipped her phone out just to see what Butch was up to. He did tell her to not let anyone cramp her mood but was cool with not having lunch together today. 

There was one Whatsapp message from him.

**_Butch_ ** _ : Wyd, BC?  _

**_Buttercup:_ ** _ Digesting. You?  _

She put the phone down to sip more water and it buzzed twice.

**_Butch:_ ** _ Seems like you had a good time. _

**_Butch:_ ** _ Just chilling in the office with a box of nuggets.  _

**_Buttercup_ ** _ : Sounds delicious, lol. And I've had better times.  _

**_Butch:_ ** _ You sound sad, I don't like it.  _

**_Butch:_ ** _ Be happy and stuff.  _

That made her smile.

**_Buttercup:_ ** _ I will be after a few drinks tonight.  _

**_Butch:_ ** _ You got plans?  _

**_Buttercup:_ ** _ Nah, I meant at home. Its Bubbles “vegan fiesta” weekend. _

**_Butch:_ ** _ Sounds dreadful. _

**_Butch:_ ** _ Wanna come hang with me and my brothers? We're going to a lounge. _

“Oh, she commented aloud. 

“Something wrong?” asked Elmer in a concerned tone.

“No, sorry, just talking to Butch.” 

“Jojo?” 

She nodded. 

“I'm surprised the two of you can be civil with one another.”

“People change, you and I are good friends aren't we?” 

“Touche,” Elmer confessed.

**_Buttercup:_ ** _ Sure but...I don't want to impose.  _

**_Butch:_ ** _ Puh-lease, they won't care.  _

**_Buttercup_ ** _ : I'll take your word for it.  _

**_Butch:_ ** _ Pick you up at 7?  _

**_Buttercup:_ ** _ Perfect.  _

**_Butch:_ ** _ Great. Until then, smile and shit.  _

**_Buttercup:_ ** _ Lol, I'll smile when I see you.  _

**_Butch:_ ** _ Even better :P _

Smiling, Buttercup shook her head and put her phone away. That was Elmer's cue to stand up. “I'm gonna head back, are you coming?” 

“Yeah, let's go” she positively answered.

Together, they left the room and walked out of the wash bay area into the waiting room. Elmer took the staircase upstairs and Buttercup headed for the garage. She went to the roster looking at the unfinished tasks of the day.

_ Hmm. _ “Guess I'll take the tune-up job…” 

“A likely choice,” she jumped, that was Prince's voice. “You've always favored getting your hands dirty.” 

She gave an awkward smile. “Sir,” Buttercup respectfully addressed him. 

“Buttercup,” he replied. “Having a late lunch today?”

“Actually sir, I had mine early. Wanted a head start on clearing the roster.” 

He smiled. “That kind of ambition is what makes you such a great employee. Keep up the great work,” Prince told her and stepped to walk away but turned to her again. “And about yesterday,” he started, looking Buttercup in the eyes. “I meant what I said about our lunch outings, people bond best over food am I right?” 

“Right,” she sheepishly smiled. 

“So I look forward to them regularly from now on,” Prince spoke as if passing on a new instruction. “Feel free to invite anyone you'd like, even  _ S'glue _ .” 

“ _ Huh? _ ” Buttercup squeaked, body growing tense by the second.  _ Did he get the wrong impression from seeing me on camera with Elmer?  _

Prince took his time to reply, offering her a comforting smile even. “I know you two were quite acquainted with Cassidy. Her situation was unfortunate but out of my hand.” 

“Oh,” Buttercup relaxed her shoulders,  _ so that's what he meant. _ “No need for an apology sir. Sometimes life has a way of showing who your real friends are,” she might have bitterly expressed, judging by the flicker of interest on Prince’s face.

“Did something happen?” he queried for more details and not once did Buttercup’s eyes break away from his.

“Nothing worth my breath,” she retorted, dismissing her emotions.

_ How fiery….. _

Prince casually slid his hands into his front pocket folds. “I see….well, there's one more thing I'd like to ask of you, Buttercup. My father's charity is hosting a fundraiser event for the children's hospital tomorrow at the central park. There will be food, activities and sales alike, even merchandise promotions,” he continued to explain. “It's sort of fun day and I have an extra ticket if you'd like to come or if you aren't busy, I'd love to have you help out. Of course, you'll be paid for your services.” 

“Oh, sure. I can help out, I don't have any plans,” she accepted the offer, watching him pleasantly smile. 

“Wonderful, you can stop by Rebecca for a t-shirt, feel free to customize it your liking. The event starts at 11 but if you can make it for 9 that works.” 

“Will do, sir.” 

“Great. See you then,” said Prince, handing over a gold ticket he pulled from a pocket. “It's your entrance pass,” and walked away from her all proud and mighty. 

Buttercup shrugged and went off to perform her chosen task. A little Saturday event did sound too bad. The cause was good and after all, it meant free food, drinks and she was being paid for her time, why the hell not? She was already spending the night with Butch, maybe they could hang out again on Sunday too. 

_ Yeah...that sounds like a great end to a weekend… _

Buttercup unknowingly smiled to herself. “I’ll ask him later.”

* * *

 

**_12:25 pm At Work…._ **

“Brick, Mojo’s assistant gave me an envelope for you,” said Blossom as she entered his office. Her more laidback than usual boss simply held a hand out for retrieval and the other feeding his mouth. 

“Thanks,” he said accepting and immediately ripping the envelope open. Upon sight of two golden tickets, Brick rolled his eyes. He had been informed of some Morbucks event happening some weeks ago and generally accepted the invitation just for the kid-friendly environment of complimentary bounce houses, fake rock climbing, candy and by admission, the free food. In any case, Bonnie was spending this weekend with her mother and nonsense aunts, so Brick had an extra ticket on hand. 

_ Hmm. _

Brick tapped the corner of the envelope against his lips. There was no real point of attending without Bonnie by his side to watch her play and have the time of her life. Instead, he would be stuck, forced even to entertain the likes of the Morbucks family. Ew.

_ If I gave them to Berserk, would she accept? The woman already treats Townsville as if its the most despicable thing in this dimension and I’m also not aware of the plans she has in store for Bonnie so… _

“Meh,” Brick coughed aloud. That simple gesture might conjure an argument since Berserk loved playing the victim card. For the maintenance of his current mood all weekend long, it was better to not beat a dead horse.

But just what plans did he have in store? Hell, Brick couldn’t recall the last memory of a Bonnie free weekend though by admission, the fault of his own overprotective habits. Either way Butch made plans for drinks, so there was that, the rest should come naturally. 

_ Hmm. _

As Brick swiveled in his chair, contemplating the use of his free time, those crimson eyes of his locked on his quiet assistant who was, for some odd reason, blowing steam off the weirdest sandwich he had ever seen. 

_ What is that shit, cauliflower?  _

"Hey _ R- _ Miss Utonium," he professionally corrected himself. “Do you have any plans this weekend?” 

Blossom was taken aback. Was Brick, her stoic faced boss attempting his first friendly conversation with her? Who spiked the coffee when she wasn’t looking?

"Nothing beyond sleep and resting. Why, do you need me for something?”

“What are you, an old lady?” Brick cracked himself up. “Who plans to spend the entire weekend sleeping?”

“I do,” she squeaked, cheeks flushing in minor embarrassment. 

Brick shook his head. “You're one of a kind, Red. I’ll give you that much,” he teased her. “Or maybe I’ve just been working you so hard that you require an entire weekend to recover. Too bad, its  _ oh so hard _ to find good help these days,” Brick added with a smirk. 

_ Oh no, you don’t! _

“On the contrary sir,” Blossom added a hair flip for a boost of confidence. “No, but my night endeavors have kept me pretty busy as of recently,” she half-lied.

“You get laid?!” Brick spat in shock, lips ajar, eyes widened in the echo of his staring.

Blossom’s face ran beet red. “ _ W- _ What? Uh...  _ N- _ No!” she stammered. “ _ I- _ I  _ d- _ didn’t mean it like that!’

“ _ Hahahaha! _ ” Brick threw his head back in bellied laughter. “ _ Hahahahaha! HA! _ ”

Blushing furiously, Blossom shyly clutched her hands together, the depths of utter humiliation temporarily subduing the pangs of hunger erupting in her stomach. 

_ *Cough* *Cough* _

Brick reached for his bottle of water, quenching the thirst of his dried up mouth.

_ Ahem!  _

He cleared his throat, looking over yet again at his hilarious, virgin of an assistant. 

“Anyway, Miss Utonium” Brick humored her. “I would very much like if you attended an event with me this weekend, I have an extra invite." 

Turning her head ever so slowly to face yet another surprise from the likes of Brick, Blossom couldn’t help but question the occasion. “U-Um….what kind of event is it?”

“A fundraiser for the children’s hospital,” he told her, reaching for his sandwich. 

“Oh, that’s wonderful. I would love too-,” she cut herself off, eyes narrowing just a tad bit at him. “Wait…”

“Is there a problem, Miss Utonium?” Brick asked midway through chewing.

“Would I be attending as your assistant or a guest?”

“As my companion, Miss Utonium. Is it not me that extended an invitation to yourself? Of course, I did it for the company.”

_ Oh? _

A lightbulb flickered over Blossom’s head. “Then in the spirit of companionship,” a smug expression slithered across her face. “Would you care to invite me as would a friend?”

“I beg your pardon, Miss Utonium?”

She batted her eyelashes, addressing him all nonchalant. “Since you want my company and all.”

Brick rolled his eyes. “Hey Blossom, wanna hang out tomorrow? There'll be free food and stuff," his voice mocked causality but his fake smile had a tinge of genuine warmth behind it.

“Why thank you, Brick!” she put a hand over her heart in flattery. “I would love to go!” Blossom matched his tone, snickering at the glare she received from him in return.

"You just have to make everything more difficult don't you?" he complained to the smiling puff whose lips expanded into a cheerful grin. 

“You said my name,” Blossom teased him, bursting into a fit of giggles, turned scandalous laughter when he glared at her even harder.

“Shut up,” Brick barked, draining her out in favor of his sandwich. He still held one of the golden tickets out for Blossom to take, returning to his ignoring her once out of his grasp.

An authentic smile settling on her lips, Blossom safely secured her ticket and bit into the yummy vegetarian sandwich she prepared in the kitchen earlier. 

Maple syrup, garlic roasted cauliflower,  _ mmm!  _ She sunk her teeth into its sweet but savory goodness, fawning over the taste. Bubbles vegan recipes were really something else, it was delicious and healthy, not that Blossom was watching her figure. Probably if her and Boomer linked up, he could add a vegan/vegetarian section to his restaurant menu.

_ Wait… _

“That’s it!” Blossom burst aloud with excitement, still ignored by a petty Brick. It wasn’t her place to do so, but maybe this was a good thing to pitch in Boomer’s direction. Plus, she did want to speak with him on concerns for his mental health. He was suffering to the point of acting out and no one around him considered it worth their time to query the source of his pain. People could be so selfish and the gut-wrenching part, she understood why.

_ Sigh. _

Reality humbles those on any form of a societal pedestal, but the very least she could do right now was to try and brighten his day.

“Hey Brick, by chance do you know if Boomer is still in his office?” she asked her brooding boss.

“Ring him and find out,” he tossed the idea out there. 

_ Salty-butt… _

Shaking her head at Brick’s predictability, Blossom searched for Boomer’s number in the database then punched them in. 

_ *Ring.* _

_ *Ring.* _

“Hello?”

“Hi Boomer, it’s Blossom.”

“....Oh. Do you need something?” he queried.

“Yes, would it be alright if I spoke to you in private?”

“Uh, sure Blossom. Come on over.” 

“Thank you,” she said and politely hung up the phone.

In sheer curiosity, Brick glanced over in time to see Blossom pick up her sandwich and bottle of water. “What’s so urgent with Boomer?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to him to have lunch with me,” Blossom admitted, staring into his deadpanned gaze.  

“Dork,” Brick commented under his breath, whipping out his red iPhone.  

Paying his insult no mind, Blossom left his office in favor of Boomer’s artistic one, knocking on the door first before entering. 

“Hi Boomer,” she greeted the blonde male who was in the process of devouring a box of KFC. To be polite, Boomer finished chewing and swallowed completely before addressing her. 

“Hey, Blossom, don’t mind me eating. What did you want to talk about?”

She properly sat down on the chair to the front of his desk, placing her food items on there. “Quite honestly, I just wanted to have lunch you.”

…….Boomer ran silent, staring at the innocent bluntness of the pink former puff.

“Soo... why didn’t you just ask that over the phone?”

“Because you might have said no,” she spoke with nonchalance.

“....That’s true,” he painfully admitted.

“Are you ok with it now though?” Blossom asked to consider his feelings. “Because I can leave if you want to be alone.”

Boomer motioned his hand to and fro in dismissal. “You're already here so it's fine.”

“Thank you, Boomer,” Blossom politely said and unwrapped her sandwich. “So, how’s your day going thus far?”

“Pretty good,” he bit into his chicken. “Can’t complain and yourself?”

“Good, I’m just ready for this weekend to be in full bloom.”

“Oh?” he quirked a brow. “What do you have planned?”

“To sleep so hard I can’t feel myself dreaming,” Blossom told him, biting into her sandwich.

“That’s pretty hardcore,” Boomer cracked a smirk. “You have been looking tired though, concealer only covers so much..no offense.”

“None is taken,” she ignored the comment. “I’ve been multi-tasking all week, some days of rest would do the trick.”

“Brick’s working you that hard, huh?”

Blossom told most of the truth, just enough to not raise land her in possible skepticism with Brick. “No it isn’t him, there was part-time some shifts I’ve been covering from my last job, so my sleeping hours this week range from 12 - 5 give or take.”

Boomer looked taken aback. Did she really manage to put up with Brick’s demands and hold down another job at the same time? “Yikes. Does Brick know about this?”

“No, he doesn’t. It's just temporary so by the time he asks it will already have run its course,” she half-truthed again. 

_ Hmm. _ “I see...you’ve managed to stay this long without complaint so, I doubt you’ll be going anywhere,” he gave the puff reassurance. In a way, it properly made up for his past insensitive words even if an apology was already issued and accepted. 

“That’s music to my ears,” she smiled, missing the look he gave when biting into her odd-looking sandwich. 

_ And that sandwich is an impairment to my eyes….. _

“Uh, Blossom.”

“Yes?”

“What are you eating?” he just had to ask.

“A maple syrup, garlic roasted cauliflower sandwich,” she spoke with enthusiasm. 

Boomer paused to find the right words, half flabbergasted and part disgusted that someone had the gall to flatter such a disgrace, with the word sandwich. “.....I see Bubbles has rubbed off on you,” he deadpanned.

She had the audacity to smile as if it were a compliment. “Right? She’s amazing at healthy vegetarian recipes. Eating this way made appreciate vegetables more, it's cheaper and better for the environment.”

“I bet…,” he whispered under his breath and bit into the savory goodness that was batter fried, dead chicken legs. Quite a long time it had been since Boomer last ran into his counterpart. He heard she was teaching Kindergartners now, seemed fitting for her.

It seemed that Boomer wished not for the continuation of said topic, he said nothing else, a hymn of silence between them as they ate. 

_ So much for pitching an idea….if I did it now, Boomer might think I’m lowkey trying to tell how to do his job…. _

_ Sigh. _

The last thing she wanted to do was offend him, but walking on eggshells just to be around someone is sham at best. 

Somebody had to reach out to Boomer, it would not by a longshot, solve any of his practical issues but...

_ I can try…. _

“So Boomer..” Blossom started, pausing for a sip of water while mentally deciphering the correct approach. Should she be blunt but rational? Or sensitive and passive? Situation aside, Boomer had an attitude and people only loved hearing the truth when it wasn’t directed at them.

“Mhm?” he prompted her to continue.

“ _ H- _ Have... _ h- _ how long, ugh.  _ Y- _ You…,” she digressed, growing annoyed with herself for wanting to sugarcoat the issue at hand. 

Boomer quirked a brow at her.

_ No going back now Blossom…. _

“ _ H- _ How long have you been experiencing feelings of dejectedness?” she spat out the none too discreet question, secretly hoping it deemed a positive reaction.

Instead, Boomer casually picked up another piece of chicken and ate it, deliberately staring at the nervous wrecked puff for selling herself out. He already knew someone had spoken to her about his attitude and given Brick and Butch mostly cared about the restaurant, it wasn’t them, next, Mojo was yet to formally address the puff since she’s started working here and lastly, the other staff didn’t think Blossom would last long enough to be worth their words. So to conclude, the person was likely to be Barbara the general secretary and her grandmotherly-like traits, who has consistently engaged the puff in speech.

It wasn’t a surprise that people were talking about him behind his back. Then this Powerpuff wanted to stick her nose in his business after scolding him to get his shit together. People just couldn’t let him be huh?

_ Mmm.  _

“Umm…,” Blossom shifted in discomfort. Boomer was sitting quietly, staring at her and munching on chicken in a peculiar mocking type of manner. Quite frankly it was disrespectful and if it offended him, use of the English language could easily express such emotion.

_ Ahem. _

Blossom cleared her throat, sitting upright in a posture of confidence. If Boomer thought he had gotten lucky the first time to even attempt, the stimulation of tolerance within her for this rubbish, balderdash, insufferable, attitude. Unequivocally, he fathomed not of her inner Brick.

“I take it that particular question has offended you,” she kept a rational tone, still wanting to keep her cool.

Boomer shrugged in his address. “I’m not obliged to answer that.” 

_ Definitely offended him….. _

Blossom nodded slowly, imprisoning some of the ignorance wanting to flee her mouth. “And I’m not obligated to tolerate disrespect for showing some genuine concern to a person hiding their suffering. So if you would be so kind as to drop the attitude, we can then have a proper conversation.” 

“Or you can the fuck out of my office,” he matched her nonchalance, at the same time questioning reasons for the derisive smile that plastered on her face, teeth flashing a brief moment.

_ Oh, Boomer... _

“I think the fuck not,” Blossom retorted, looking him straight in the eyes. For the second time in his life, Boomer witnessed his elder brother’s prim and proper, goodie two shoe counterpart utter a curse word. 

“I’ll call security.”

“Call them,” she smiled in his face, daring him to commit the threatened act. Boomer’s eyes were locked onto hers, dark blue versus cotton candy pink but made zero ventures for his office phone. “What’s the matter,” Blossom cocked her head to the side. “I thought you were a proud wuss, calling on civilian security on the big bad Powerpuff you couldn’t handle alone,” she jeered, watching as his eyes began to narrow. 

“On the contrary my new friend,” she corrected him. “What I’m asking, is for some  _ respect _ . I don’t care if you think the world around you should tiptoe on eggshells for your insecurities, I don’t care if you presume that physically assaulting me, which can you in a serious lawsuit, by the way, will do emotions any justice and quite frankly,” she clapped once. “I  _ refuse _ to accept any more flagrant disrespect from the likes of  _ you, Boomer Jojo _ . You  _ do not _ have the right to talk down anyone you please, especially not when people take the time away from their responsibilities in order to lend  _ you _ , Boomer, another  _ human being  _ who is clearly heading a path of destruction, a listening ear!”

“So what’s up? What’s the problem? What is stirring that much inner turmoil that you just can't help but lash out on others around you when it gets brought up? What is it, Boomer? You have my undivided attention,” Blossom ended her rant, crossing her legs in await of his response. Having vocalized such negative, condescending emotions from her system, it now became a mental battle to not entertain feelings of remorse regarding Boomer, herself understanding what it’s like to be scrutinized by your own thoughts. 

He was just sitting there, no longer eating, gaze locked in Blossom’s direction but his eyes in avoidance of her own. 

As the moment of silence ran for an extended period, Blossom began feeling bad for sticking her nose in his business. Now, look at what she caused.

A weary sigh fled her lips. “Look Boomer I apologize for-”

“Just shut up and listen,” he cut her off and bit into his chicken again.

_ Boy! _

“See that painting over there?” Boomer signaled with a gesture of the head. Swallowing the rise of annoyance, Blossom turned to view the picture he was talking about. “I painted that when I was ten years old using the paint I found in Mojo’s laboratory. He yelled at me that day but it was totally worth it and that one over there,” he explained, now pointing to another. 

“That’s when I started taking art classes seriously in middle school. I used acrylic paint and learned the strokes of different brushes. I had a lot of fun,” said Boomer, moving onto yet another picture. 

“And this one is an insanely muted version of that time HIM showed us a picture of Mojo in a wedding dress next to your dad and Mojo threw it in the fireplace to burn.” 

As Boomer went on a tangent on his numerous paintings, a spell of sobriety fell over Blossom.

She didn’t know his paintings were that old nor significant to his life. Seems this wasn’t just Boomer’s way of killing time when his emotions were overflowing. His love for art shone brightly as day.

So why didn’t he pursue his dreams?  

Boomer had everything, a wealthy father and another that could summon his heart’s desire. Money, from these stories, did not seem to be a problem. So…. why? 

“And I remember spending my last year of college painting through the sleepless adrenaline rush, damn well knowing I was wasting precious time when my assignment was due the next week and I was barely halfway done. I made it knack of time though,” Boomer explained with a chuckle, shaking his head afterward. 

“You must be asking yourself the point of all this,” came his somber tone. “All my life, I found myself succumbing to positions where I’m always instructed on what I should like, how I should act, what classes I should choose and after I turned 18, the supposed age of freedom, it got even worse. Everyone else got to decide their career path except me because, in my father's eyes, art was by no means the “ _ money making material _ ” like my brothers. In other words, I was given a choice.” 

Blossom nodded, indicating she was following so Boomer continued. 

“At the time I was so annoyed that I chose management just so I could be in control for once and I admit, I liked it, loved it even and the same goes for computing. It's fun but my passion for art never withered away. I went months without painting, to dismiss the urge but the second I found myself with a pencil in hand, what did I do? I sketched a picture of a landscape I visited the last summer. In fact, it was so loved, I got put in classes for architecture. 

“And,” Boomer shared a long sigh. He was revealing too many personal aspects to person non-contracted under himself. “I digress, but the point is I'm tired of being shut into this box and be expected to perform just like everyone else. Its depressing and people tend to enjoy complicating things more than necessary when you're already fighting to keep up. I just-” 

_ Mmm!  _

Boomer groaned in frustration, fists tightened on his desk. It was his fault Katy was on the brink of being fired. She took on most of his responsibilities without complaint and now, it was up to him to fight for her job security. What kind of shitty boss allowed such a thing to occur? 

_ Sigh.  _

“It’s just a lot, and my manager’s an incredibly hard worker, I do hope that even you of all people, noticed that,” he took the moment to defend his employee.

“I did,” Blossom answered. Now that she thought about it, Boomer’s depression was probably the reason Katy had so much on her plate. It was still a breach of authority but emotionally, a valid reason if even Boomer, during all spurs of emotion, could defend her honor. 

“If it helps….I could convince Brick into leaving the matter in your hands,” she offered, surprising the blonde ruff.

“Why?”

“Because, as far as I can interpret from his actions. Brick just wants to see you in control of your outcomes again and stand your ground, even if the people around you, himself included, disagree with your decisions,” Blossom explained her understanding of the matter.

_ Tsk. _ “That sounds like Brick, alright. Always bossing me around trying to toughen me up, what am I five?” Boomer confessed, shaking his head. The perspective made him feel better though, sometimes Brick and Butch combined could be overbearing assholes trying to dictate his life but they usually meant no malicious intent, equally loving and caring for him as a brother.

_ Sigh. _ He was wrong for lashing out at them for trying to help...but apologizing would not take away from his inner turmoils. And just how could he gain control over his situation if he was still being controlled himself? Fucking ridiculous.

As the room became quiet, Blossom awkwardly shifted in her seat.  _ That certainly explains his attitude problem...but… _

_ Stagnant complaining will get you nowhere... _

“Boomer,” she chose her words carefully. “Have you tried starting your own art business?” 

“I have, didn't work out,” he replied, pressing his lips into a fine line. 

“ _ M- _ May I ask why?” 

“Back then it was a matter of investment, but now it's a matter of dedicating time. You ran Brick's fancy report so you know the restaurant industry is eating me alive right now and to think I chose it because the food was the closest thing in resemblance of art.” 

_ That’s not so bad…. _

She straightened her back, speaking with a flow of confidence. “I think you should give it another shot, in fact, reapproach your entire working schedule. Work smarter, not harder. Having no experience in managing a restaurant establishment, I can't offer you any personal advice other than to take advantage of trends. Veganism is rising, consumers would love if you added some cool but healthy, affordable plant-based options that aren't a salad. Regarding your art, you don’t need to invest in a physical store just post it online, it will sell.” 

_ Cheh. _

“Of course you would say that,” Boomer uttered with a roll of his eyes. He had to admit though, her point possessed some validity to it as far as the inane, vegan imitation meats dominating the freezer section of most supermarkets nowadays. 

Blossom fought against the rolling of her own eyes, holding out a hand as she opened her mouth to speak again. “Boomer, you are  _ famous _ . You might not see it that way but believe you me, if you were to make a Facebook page and put up drawings for sale in selling groups, your following will skyrocket, people will buy them. Best yet just go shirtless next to a drawing and take a picture. I  _ guarantee  _ high profits.” 

That spurred a laugh out of him. “So to sell a painting online, I must succumb myself to sexual objectification?”

“Just remember to smile and you'll be set for life,” she gave justification for the act, flashing him the ok sign.

“You're a fool,” Boomer laughed. 

Not my best compliment,” Blossom voiced with a smile. “But for starters, I'm really proud of you for opening up to me, Boomer. I hate that I had to curse at you not once but twice, to talk it out. I feel so filthy,” she put a dramatic hand over her heart. 

Boomer shook his head at the last part. “Of course that would be synonymous to you,” he teased her. “Thanks for listening though, I guess I feel sort of better.”

_ That’s great! _

“No problem and of course, this stays between the two of us,” Blossom ensured him. “I know we aren't that close but I'd like you to know that in no way, did I come here with the intention of benefitting off your personal dilemmas.” 

“Good to know.”

She held a hand out for him to shake. “Friends in progress?” 

Boomer accepted her gesture. “I can agree to that.” 

A strong handshake signified a possibly secured friendship in the future. Their first obvious challenge is learning about one another to the extent of establishing a genuine, long term sense of care. They've overcome harder obstacles in life.

Both resuming their eating, the two, for now, settled for peacefully being in each other's company without force. From this experience, in Boomer’s opinion, perhaps he was wrong to hold Blossom to mostly judgemental and unrealistic ideals. After all, she saw something off about him and reached out on her own unlike the people around him every day. To be honest, Blossom had always felt the need to be this no-nonsense, justice prevails, self-righteous type of person. Albeit a buzzkill in his teenage years, Boomer could respect her for it now.

But the energy she radiated was completely different back then and he could not help but wonder…. 

“Hey Blossom?” 

“Yes, Boomer?” the puff friendly answered him, eyes in direct contact as she awaited his question.

“......nevermind,” Boomer withdrew.

“Ok.” 

Maybe it wasn't his place to ask just yet...

As the lunch hour ticked away and food became itty bitty crumbs in their relevant packagings, Blossom felt good about herself, the situation and beginning of a new friendship. Disposing of her trash, Blossom opted for their last words to each other to be friends worthy. 

"You know, Brick invited me to a fundraiser this weekend,” she ignited the conversation. 

"Mmmmm? Oh yeah, the Morbucks shindig,” Boomer recalled the event. “That’s good, I won’t be attending though.”

She smirked. “Still can’t stand to be around them, huh?”

“How likely of the former class rep to retain the memory of our previous classroom predicaments,” he teased her back, himself smirking. 

Blossom giggled. “Who could forget taint-your-bucks? She was the embodiment of high school hell. To think if even the education board could be persuaded with money, what standards do we really have in society?” 

“Shit, if I had the money back then, I’d do the same,” Boomer confessed with a scoff. “Fuck the education system and their bullshit expenses. If you think she was bad, you don’t want to meet her brother.” 

“That’s true,” she chuckled. Deep down, Blossom felt a way about attending an event from that family. Sure, Buttercup was employed under them but Princess still monopolized a grudge against her for not allowing her request to be a member of the Powerpuff girls' team and in return, rejected all of her job applications at the Morbucks owned businesses under her own and a few other convincible relatives command. 

_ Sigh. _

"Well, I better get back to Brick before he terminates my contract."

"Happy Friday,” Boomer teased her goodbye.

"Thanks," Blossom laughed and left his office, returning to the office of Brick. 

Upon entrance, her crimson eyed boss acknowledged Blossom's smile on her lips, opting to inquire on the puff’s first lunch outside his office. “Good lunch with Boomer, Miss Utonium?”

“It was in fact, I may visit him for lunch more often.” 

Brick's forehead scrunched, curious at the what hell they could've chatted about to be so buddy-buddy now. “Might I enquire on your reasoning for such ventures, Miss Utonium?” 

Blossom thought again, choosing her words carefully. “His perspective on art is amazing and I’d love to see him pursue it professionally,” she said, watching as Brick confirmed Boomer’s words by shaking his head. 

“But guess what?” she asked him, taking a seat at her desk.

“Hmm?” 

“We had a conversation on the rise of societal trends, “ Blossom strategically shifted the topic for Brick’s approval. “Boomer will be looking into plant-based recipes to add to the restaurant's menu. Isn't that great?”

_ Oh. _

“That is,” Brick commented, thinking off all the plant eaters fussing on the internet for years and now it had all sorts of products catering to please them. If Boomer found cheap recipes or contracted with the brands of those products to profit on, business could increase. A great idea actually.  “Good work, Blossom,” he bid her praise. 

Blossom’s smile brightened. “Thank you, Brick,” she cheerfully said, lips curving into a rather smug smirk. “ And by the way, you just said my name again.” 

“I take it back,” he spat.

_ “Teehehehehe _ …,” Blossom giggled, resuming her duties of the day.

* * *

 

**_With HIM & Clarissa…..._ **

“So for this question the x squared -5x + 20=0 could be factorized as (x-4)(x-5)=0 because both frequencies x-4=0 and x-5=0 then on the final step, x-4=0 +4 +4 when you cancel it out, becomes x= 4 and the other, x-5=0 +5 +5 becomes x= 5,” said Clarissa, moving onto her several other equations.

Mr. Roosevelt sat on the desk, listening as Clarissa discussed her answers to the test he prepared her after vigorous hours of practicing. Candidly, the child proved to be academically challenged. Her mother in HIM’s opinion had a right to tell Clarissa she was dumb, it was the truth, but acknowledging that alone could never aid the problem at hand. Anyone with a brain could understand that, yet Clarissa was deemed as the one without common sense? Geez. Leave it to a lobster demon to provide a practical solution, so instead of a full day of learning different modules, HIM targeted her weak areas and planned to strengthen them first.

_ Yawn.  _

“The correct answer would be C since in its extended form the translation is (x -1)(x +1) = x squared -1,” 

“ **_Alright alright, study time is over Clarissa, tomorrow we move onto science,_ ** ” HIM tiredly ended her vocal calculations.   
  


“What? I have to study on a Saturday?” she incoherently complained at the moment, forgetting her bigger predicament at hand.

“ **_IS THAT A PROBLEM?!_ ** ” boomed the eerie voice of her demon-possessed teddy bear, his googly eyes committing the impossible by narrowing at her.

“ _ N- _ No sir,” she quivered, pen trembling in her hand.

“ **_That’s what I thought_ ** ,” HIM mockingly retorted, teleporting over to his rocking chair for a break. Goodness, teaching was more exhausting than chaos. 

_ *Slurrrppppppp.*  _

He drank from the soda drink he summoned, kicking back on his favorite chair. A good bubble bath and nap sounded refreshing right about now but, HIM was still legally obliged to feed the brat if he so desired to act as her unwilling guardian even for means of evil. 

_ Bleh.  _

Sixteen-year-olds knew how to cook, right?

“ **_Clarissa, go prepare yourself something to eat, whatever you do afterward, I don’t care, you live here now, not me._ ** ” 

“ _ B- _ But  _ y- _ you’s the one who brought me here,  _ i- _ if anything, I’m  _ t- _ the o-one that  _ s- _ should be  _ s- _ served food.”

“ **_What did you just say to me, little girl?_ ** ”

Clarissa gulped. “ _ Y- _ You h-heard me,” she opposed. She might not have been the most academically gifted but she still picked up on a thing or two from listening to her mom professionally speak. Besides, he spent his “precious time” schooling her in math all day, was he really all that terrifying?

Those googly eyes of Mr. Roosevelt narrowed again. When you gave a kid an inch, they always took a fucking yard. “ **_Clarissa, perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. You see you and I are not equal, I have the power and you, my dear, are a feeble, puny, little girl and therefore_ ** -.”

“ _ T- _ Technically,” she interrupted him. “ _ I- _ I’m already  _ b- _ bigger  _ t- _ than you so..w-what m-makes you so p-powerful.”

_ *Cough*  _

_ What the... _

Numerous strands of hair begun wrapping themselves around her neck.

_ *Cough* *Cough*  _

Her own hair was strangling her! 

“ _ Ahh! AAAAAH! _ ” screamed Clarissa, being lifted into the air to be hung to death.

Mr. Roosevelt cocked his head to the side. “ **_You were saying?_ ** ” 

“ _ I- _ I’M SOR-SORRY!” she frantically croaked, desperately fighting the hair to breathe properly. Only then, it let go, dropping her none too gently on the chair she had been sitting on, heavily gasping for air. The weird part, her neck wasn’t bruised at all. Was she hallucinating? No way, it felt too real!

“ **_Better get started on dinner_ ** ,” he taunted, rocking ever so calmly in his chair.

“ _ O- _ Ok!” Clarissa squeaked, rushing off to the kitchen area. Oh, she was definitely wrong to undermine his power, but her intuition had not wavered. For whatever reason Mr. Roosevelt’s possessor wanted her alive, studious and well, Clarissa was prepared to exploit his lecturing habits to its fullest capacity if it meant survival. She knew her mother wouldn’t look into her absence at school but her father would and fingers crossed, initiate a search and rescue team to save her.

* * *

**_2:30 pm at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten…._ **

_ Teehehehehehee…. _

_ “Over here, pass the ball!”  _

_ “Haha!” _

The sounds of children giggling and laughing filled the playground atmosphere. Some kids played hopscotch on the concrete, others on the grass played pass the ball, skipped rope and even swung on the swing set, all awaiting their parents under Bubbles supervision. Her little group of five seemed to have developed some sort of close bonds since busting Tommy out of the naughty corner, participating in a game of kickball together. She was so used to seeing Tommy just with Frank, that it warmed her heart to see him open up to have formed other true friendships in class, although he and Sara loved to argue, it was still touching. They even built a mini ramp...of dirt? 

Uh oh, this meant trouble.

“Are you sure this a good idea Tommy? The playground’s not that big,” Imogen questioned the abrasive boy’s request of Sara. 

“Yeah, we could accidentally hit someone,” Bonnie chimed in, herself skeptical but kind of excited to see how high up they could send the ball.  

“Oh relax, it’s perfectly safe! Imogen, you can always stop the ball, quit whining!” Tommy not so reassuringly, told his friends, positioning himself to make the kick of faith. 

Sara folded her arms. She should have asked Tommy’s true intentions before using her powers to make that ramp, assuming it was meant to block shield the other students from getting hurt. “We better not get in trouble for this!” 

Draining the chatter out, Tommy bumped fists with Frank and sucked in a deep breath, eyes locked on the ball. Taking off in a sharp sprint, he slammed his foot against the rubber up the ramp and into the blue sky.

“Sweet kick, Tommy!” praised his best friend, watching in awe as the skyrocketed ball soared up in the air.

“Wow, it’s really up really high,” Bonnie commented, shielding her eyes from the sun. 

“And now it's coming down real fast!” Sara panicked.

“Uh oh..”

“Oh no, look out!” Imogen yelled, attempting to use her powers on the ball to stop it from hitting a classmate playing hopscotch, who screamed and shield her face for impact.

“Whoa, there!” Bubbles single-handedly caught the speeding ball before it could hit one of her girl students.  

_ Phew!   _

The group of five breathed in relief.

“Are you ok, Morgan?” Bubbles asked the slightly trembling girl who offered her a kind smile. “Yes, thank you Miss Bubbles.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” she cutely patted the girl's head then turned to her naughty group of sheepish looking students with a hand on her hip.

“Sorry, Miss Bubbles!” they were quick to apologize with Sara immediately banishing that ramp back into the earth.

Bubbles shook her head. “I’m keeping this ball for a few!” she shouted and walked off to another area of the playground. 

Sara put her hands on her hips. “See what you did?!” she yelled at Tommy who just high-fived with Frank.

“That was awesome!”

“Right?!”

Sara huffed. 

Imogen shook her head. “Boys.” 

“It was cool,” Bonnie admitted, “But maybe next time we could ask our parents go to a park and play.”

“That sounds like fun!”

“Yeah!” 

“Speaking of parents…..,” Tommy mellowed the moment as his dad in his police uniform arrived at the walkway. Guess his mom had finally forgiven him.  _ Hmmph _ . “See you guys next week, later,” he walked off to get his things before Miss Bubbles could call him.

“Bye!” 

The girls and Frank resumed their conversation, planning to get their parents to hang out with each other over the weekend sometime.

At the entrance of the school, Brick stepped out of his car, closing the door.

“Bonnie, Sara your parents are here!” Bubbles alerted the children. 

_ Wait… _ he turned to his left, seeing a familiar blonde face. “Terra?”

The woman looked at him, revealing as none other than Terra Markov. “Brick?” she smiled. “Long time no see!” 

They shared a friendly hug. “Right, it’s been what, years? How are you?” he prompted the conversation. 

“It has, I’m great actually! And you? I didn’t know your daughter went to this school.”

“I’m great myself. She just started this week, it was time she learned to socialize with other kids.” 

“Aww, they grow up so fast don’t they?”

“Too fast, I feel like I’m aging rapidly,” he joked, sharing a laugh with an old friend. Terra was mutual between him and Berserk from their pregnancy doctor visits years ago after moving from Jump City, that rock on her finger indicated a happy new life as well. It was nice that their daughters got the opportunity to have a good friendship as well.

“Dad!” Bonnie exclaimed, running up to him with her backpack. “Hey Bon Bon,” Brick scooped his daughter in his arms, planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Hey, Mom!” Sara beamed.

“Hi sweetie,” Terra greeted her daughter, taking hold of her hand. “It was good seeing you, Brick. We should hang out sometime with the kids, what do you say Sara?”

“That’s great, Mom!”

“I’d love that, would you, Bon?” Brick asked Bonnie.

“Yes, please!”

All smiling, the two adults exchanged numbers, allowing their kids to say goodbye to their teacher before leaving. Bubbles were surprised, to say the least, to see the two associate in such a friendly manner. It was so rare for him or at least towards her and her sisters and as a matter of fact, Blossom was working for Brick, and Buttercup ran into Butch again, on good terms it seemed.

_ Hmm.  _

Bubbles went back to supervising her other students. 

_ I wonder how Boomer is doing?  _

* * *

“How was your day Bon Bon?” Brick asked his daughter on the drive home. 

Bonnie brightly smiled. “It was a lot of fun, dad!”

“Really? What did you do?”

“We had a spelling bee then we watched power rangers and talked about superheroes!”

“Whoa, that is a lot!” 

“Yes! And we launched a ball high up into the air but Miss Bubbles caught it before it accidentally hit someone.

“That sounds fun. I’m glad no one got hurt, but next time fly up and catch the ball before it gets too low ok?” he advised Bonnie.

“Ok, dad. I will.”

“Good. Did you eat all your snacks today? That was a lot of candy,” Brick queried, wondering if he should still treat his daughter to a sugary treat on the way back. On hearing, she had an active day, an extra treat wouldn’t hurt.

Bonnie shook her head. “I didn’t dad. Miss Bubbles made us yummy stuff today and I got really full,” she confessed.

A flash of concern spurred on Brick’s face, he was rather peculiar about non-relatives feeding his daughter, especially without his grant of permission. “She did?” he asked, neutralizing his tone of voice.

Bonnie happily nodded. “Yes! One was a brownie, I really liked it.” 

_ That sounds alright….if I remember correctly, the blonde puff was a plant eater so it was probably all healthy and stuff...ew. _

Releasing a sigh, Brick smiled. “I’m glad Bon, what else did she feed you guys?”

“Sandwiches, Dad! It tasted like...umm…,” Bonnie thought about it to recall the taste, holding a finger to her lips. “Barbeque Cabbage!” she cutely voiced, cracking Brick up.

“Wha-  _ hahaha! _ ” 

“ _ Hahahahahaha! _ ” 

Bonnie blinked innocently at her father, wondering just what was so funny.

“ _ Hahahahaha! _ ” 

“Oh my, God!” Brick continued to laugh. Bonnie was so innocent, that she probably gobbled up all of Bubbles veggie shit without tossing it in the trash.

“ _ I- _ I’m happy you ate healthy today Bon,” Brick snickered. “I’ll treat you to some ice-cream.”

“YAY!”  

__

……

….

..

**_4:30 pm Home….._ **

Brick sat on the couch with Bonnie watching Paw Patrol on the television. As his daughter’s eyes were glued to the puppies on the screen, Brick contemplated an early dinner option. He had approximately three and a half hours before Berserk might arrive, so healthy fish tacos could suffice, once he ate prior to drinking was fine. 

“Be right back, Bon.” 

“Are you going to make dinner, dad?” 

“Yes, tacos.”

Her eyes lit up. “Can I help?!” she eagerly offered. Her dad always cooked the best foods on Friday.

“Sure, meet me in the kitchen when your show is finished, ok?”

“Ok!” 

Sending a smile her way, Brick went to the kitchen, washed his hands and began prepping the ingredients. He took some tilapia fillets from the freezer, working them between the heated energy emitting from his palms, just enough to defrost then set them on a cutting board. Grabbing the fish seasoning, Brick seasoned the fillets, rubbing in some extra smoked paprika and cumin for flavor and put that to cook on the stove top with coconut oil. 

Next, Brick sliced and grated some cabbage, carrots, bell pepper and just a bit of grated beetroot, incorporating them into his signature coleslaw recipe of sour cream and onions to trick Bonnie into eating more veggies. Sliding that into the fridge, he checked on his fish fillets flipping them over then sliced fresh avocado, sprinkling fresh lime juice to avoid oxidization. Lastly, Brick took the bag of tortilla wraps from the cabinet above and set it on the counter, removing the cooked fish from the heat, and wiped the inside of the pan clean with a paper towel, drizzling a touch bit more oil.

“I’m here to help, dad!” his daughter’s cute voice lit up the kitchen. 

“Good timing, Bon. Come help me cook the tortillas.”

“Ok!” she beamed, flying over to her dad’s side. “What’s the first step, dad?”

Brick opened the bag of tortillas, handing them over to the hovering Bonnie. “Place four of them in the pan, make sure they are all flat on the surface.”

With a nod, Bonnie carefully took out the tortillas and put them in the hot pan, smiling at her good work. Her dad turned up the heat to cook them faster and gave her a spatula to flip them over. They slipped around a bit, but she turned each tortilla on her own.  

“Good job, Bon. We’re all set to assemble the tacos.”

“The best part!”

“Sure is,” Brick matched her enthusiasm, taking the slaw out of the fridge. He allowed Bonnie to fork the pieces of fish apart when she asked him, ensuring she didn’t turn the thing to mush. 

“Ready to layer, Bon?”

“Yeah!”

“What comes first?” he encouraged her decision-making abilities. 

“The tortillas!” 

“Mhm, go ahead.”

“Next we add the slaw,” she said, accepting the spoon her dad handed to scoop coleslaw onto the four flour tortillas. 

“Then we add….” Bonnie looked between the two options. “Avocado?” she looked at her dad for his approval.

“Sure.”

Smiling, she put a few slices on each then added the pieces of fish. Brick gave her the parsley shaker and watched her shake the herb all over the tacos. Bonnie awed at the finished creation, the purple color of the slaw, the green and yellow of the avocado and parsley, the white with crusts of red on the fish, the tacos were so colorful, it reminded her of fruity pebbles cereal.

“We did good, Bon. High-five.”

“High-five!  _ Teehehehe…. _ ” she added a giggle.  

Brick plated their food and together, he and his daughter sat at the dinner table eating the yummy tacos.

* * *

 

**_7:15 pm_ **

Brick held up a pair of strawberry shortcake jammies and hello kitty nightie in each hand. “Which pj’s do you want to pack, Bon?” he asked his daughter, who sat legs folded on her bed.

“Can’t I pack them both, dad?” Bonnie pleaded, indecisive on her favorite sleepwear. 

“You’ll only be spending two nights, Bon. We don’t want to overpack.”

Bonnie’s lips pouted. “But what if I accidentally get dirty?” she tried her luck, receiving “ _ the look _ ” from her dad. 

“You accidentally get dirty while sleeping on a bed?”

Ok, he had her there. “But it can happen!”

“Nice try. Pick one.”

“Aww…,” Bonnie whined, rocking backward in contemplation. “I guess I’ll take miss strawberry, it might be cold at night.”

“Good choice,” Brick said and folded the sleepwear, tucking it into her red duffle bag. Thus far it contained four changes of underwear, a bathing suit just in case, four outfits, two for outdoors and two for indoors, two nightwears, three pairs of socks and shoes, a towel, hair and body products, accessories, her Elmo doll, phone charger, some snacks, and sunscreen, again, just in case. 

“Alright Bon, you’re all set to spend the weekend at Mom’s,” he told Bonnie, seeing the smile of excitement shape her face. 

_ Sigh. _

Now he was starting to have second thoughts about letting her go. He already prepped Bonnie with the safety rules but Berserk didn’t level the courtesy to inform him of her plans with his-  _ their _ daughter and he would like to think, now that Bonnie was older and of curious, naive, impressionable nature, that she and her sisters will conduct themselves like proper adults….. _ or else _ . 

Brick threw the bag across his shoulder. “Get ready Bonnie, she will be here soon.” 

“Ok, dad!” she burst with energy, running past him through the door to get to the bathroom. Shaking his head, Brick went downstairs and waited for her downstairs.

Ten minutes later, the flashing neons of Bonnie’s light up shoes raced down the staircase. “I’m ready, dad!” she exclaimed. 

Brick turned around to see Bonnie wearing her hair out, sporting a jean dress her mother sent, eyelashes flared and her lips coated in a sparkling neutral lip gloss. 

“Who said you could wear makeup?”

“It’s just lipgloss, dad,” Bonnie sheepishly smiled under her dad’s narrowing gaze. She might have also used the clear mascara from the beauty kit her aunt Brat sent on her birthday.

“What happened to your lip balm?” he further questioned.

“I wanted to wear the gloss aunty Brat gave to me. Don’t I look cute?”

“ _ Uh-huh _ ,” the bitter words fled his lips. 

_ Beep! _

That was his phone.

_ Sigh. _

He checked his text messages:

**_Hoebo_ ** _ : Pulling up around the corner.  _

Resisting an eye roll, Brick slid the cell back into his pocket. 

“Bonnie, what are the safety rules again?”

She smiled. “Always keep my phone on hand. If I feel in danger, get my mom and aunts or call you. Don’t run off alone or outside of viewing range. If I want to buy anything, I have twenty dollars in my bag’s side pocket.”

“And why must you keep your phone on hand?” Brick continued his safety drill.

“So you can call me each morning and night to make sure I’m ok so you don’t miss me too much.”

“I never said that last part.”

“ _ Teehehehehehe….. _ ” Bonnie giggled.

Shaking his head, Brick opened his arms for a hug, engulfing his daughter in his warm embrace. 

Bonnie’s giggles continued. “You’re squishing me, dad!”

“Sorry, got carried away,” he withdrew from the fluffy display of emotion. “Be a good girl for mom, ok?”

“I’m always a good girl, dad!”

“ _ Uh-huh, _ ” he shot her a look. 

“ _ Teehehehehe…. _ ”

_ *Ding-Dong!* _

The doorbell rang. 

“Mom’s here!” Bonnie dashed off in a streak of cherry red to answer the door.

Holding in his sigh, Brick stood up with Bonnie’s bag and followed after her just in time to see his daughter rush into her mother’s arms.

“MOM!”

“Oh, sweetie!” Berserk sniffled, tears threatening to spill from her daughter’s loving embrace. “It’s so good to see you!” 

“I missed you so much!” she cried, trying not to sob. 

“I miss you too, mom!” Bonnie snuggled her mother, almost refusing to let go. This is what she wanted to be a regular occurrence, not just video calls. This feeling…. _ irreplaceable _ .

_ *Sniff* *Sniff* _

Bonnie buried her face into her mother’s blouse.

“Aww, sweetie, don’t cry!” Berserk gently bounced, soothingly rubbing on Bonnie’s back. “Mommy’s got you.” 

_ *Sniff*  _

Brick stood quietly at the door, looking at the mother-daughter moment between Berserk and Bonnie. It felt awkward, to say the least. Guess Bonnie missed her mom more than she let on…

_ *Ahem* _

Brick cleared his throat in the midst of all these sad emotions running wild.

“Berserk,” Brick briefly greeted the mother of his child.

“Brick,” she returned his bland address, staring at one another.

_ *Sniff* _

Bonnie wiped at her eyes, diverting Berserk’s attention from Brick to her. “ _ I- _ I’m sorry for crying mom.”

“You don’t have to apologize sweetie. We’re both a couple of crybabies,” she joked, smiling at the curving of her daughter’s lips. 

“You’ve grown so much so fast!” Berserk continued to cheer her up. “I thought it was the angle of the camera messing with me.”

“ _ Teehee.. _ no mom, I’m a big girl now!”

“I can see that!” she rubbed noses with Bonnie, taking in the sounds of her cute giggling. 

“Are you ready for a fun, awesome weekend? I have a big surprise for you…” she said, observing Bonnie’s eyes grow wide with excitement. 

“Really?!” 

“Yes!” 

“I’m ready, mom! I’m ready!” Bonnie gleamed in happiness.

“Yay, I’m so glad!” Berserk grinned.

“ _ Teehehehehehe… _ ”

Brick shook his head.  _ Better not disappoint her…. _

“It’s getting late,” Brick spoke up, signaling at the duffle bag hanging from his shoulders. “You parked around the corner right?”

_ Of course, he’s quick to usher me out of his home…..typical Brick. _

_ But…I want a favor... _

“I…..” Berserk started to say, catching sight of the skepticism that took no time to settle on his face, judging her like always.

I umm…” Berserk choked. “ _ Y- _ Yeah, just around the block,” she walked off his property with Bonnie, knowing he would follow. The cold chills of the nighttime breeze on the journey to the car, sent a shiver down Bonnie’s spine, snuggling her mom for added warmth. 

Chirping the keys to her black, 2017 Lancer, Berserk secured her daughter in a car seat, properly strapping her in and opened the trunk for Brick, who closed it down in record time.

He walked over to Bonnie side of the car to greet his daughter goodbye. “Have a great time ok, Bon? I’ll call you first thing in the morning. I love you,” he said and kissed her forehead.

“I love you too, dad! See ya later,” she waved as he retreated and shut the door but didn’t move away from it. Nor did he say anything...but his presence by itself….

_ Goodness….. _

Berserk sucked in her lips, motioning to enter the vehicle. “I’ll be in touch,” she told him and opened the car door. She sat down and pulled it in but Brick’s hand prevented it from closing. 

He held three hundred dollar bills out to her. “Buy yourself and Bonnie whatever she wants.” 

Her cautious gaze morphed into a glaring one, seeing through his innuendo. “I don't need your money to do that.” After all this time, he still didn't care to acknowledge her independence.

“Just take it,” he exasperated with a roll of his eyes. “Show her a good time, buy her gifts, food, I don't care, just spend this on my-,” Brick cut himself off, releasing a sharp breath. “ _ Our  _ daughter.” 

“Fine,” Berserk took the cash, noticing how he just upped and left afterward. Shaking her head, she ran the ignition and took off down the street.

“Bitch knows she needed it….,” Brick grumbled on his way back inside. Time to kick back and have a few drinks with his brothers after a long day's work.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooou...the drama! What did you guys think of this chapter? Did you have a favorite part? As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Part 4 soon to come.


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